Mystery shrouds death of two elephants in Sambalpur

Bhubaneswar, Oct 7: The death of two elephants in Tileimal forest in Odisha’s Sambalpur continues to remain as a mystery after prelimnary investigation. Forest officials claim it to be a case of pesticide poisoning while environmentalists alleged paoching in the death of the elephants. Following the death of two pachyderms in the Tilemal forest under the Bamra forest division on Thursday, forest officials have initiated an investigation to ascertain the cause behind the death. Subsequently, it was revealed from the post-mortem report that the pachyderms succumbed to pesticide poisoning. However, agriculture experts have raised questions on the forest report as they claim that the pesticide consumed by a herd of as many as 22 elephants was not sufficient to kill the giant animals. According to the Community Agriculture  Officer, Sambalpur, Lochan Chandra Majhi the pesticide namely Paraphenophus applied in the paddy field where the elephant herd was reportedly strayed in is not strong enough to kill the elephants. He also said that the little quantity of the pesticide may not be the cause for the elephant’s death, which was also consumed by twenty other elephants. Similarly, animal lover and Prakruti Bandhu Awardee Gokulananda Dani said that the forest officials are washing the eyes of people citing it as a case of pesticide poisoning. However, the death of the two adult elephants might have been caused by the wildlife poachers. On the other hand, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF), SK Popli has ordered a probe into the death of the elephants.