​​​​​​​Bhanjanagar, Nov 1: The carcass of a tusker was recovered on Saturday morning from Compartment No. 6 of the Baniapalli Reserved Forest under the Baibali section of the Mujagada Range in North Ghumsar Forest Division, Ganjam district.

Upon receiving the information, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Himansu Sekhar Mohanty and Ranger Bimbadhar Sahu visited the spot to take stock of the situation. A team from the Regional Chief Conservator of Forests (RCCF), Berhampur, was also on its way to the site.

Preliminary investigation suggests that the elephant may have died two days ago, though the exact cause of death is yet to be ascertained. Forest officials suspect the tusker might have come in contact with an electric trap set up by poachers to hunt wild animals in the area.

A Joint Task Force (JTF) team from Bhubaneswar is expected to reach the location later in the day to conduct the post-mortem examination.

It may be recalled that earlier, a young man had been killed in an elephant attack in the Balatun area of the same forest range. The latest incident has once again highlighted the growing human–elephant conflict in the region.