A female elephant died under Angul forest division on Thursday for want of water. The elephant was stuck in a pond in Kosala under Chhendipada forest range area when she went inside it to drink water, villagers said. Although villagers informed the forest officials about it and efforts were made to rescue the animal, it succumbed before being taken out of the pond.
Following the incident, animal lovers here raised concern over frequent deaths of wild animals under the forest division.
They blamed the forest officials for not being alert in tracking movement of animals, particularly in Chhendipada area, where elephants face water scarcity during summer.