Tiger reserve officials here are flabbergasted over the discovery of a highly decomposed body of an elephant at Goindee protected forest in Garu East of South Division of the PTR. The decomposed body of the elephant was first discovered on Sunday.
Deputy director south division PTR Mahalinga said, “It is most shocking as to how this elephant remained dead, decomposing but none of our forest trackers could smell the odour of the decomposing elephant for nearly six or seven days.” Thousands of maggots have invaded the eye sockets, ears, mouth’s aperture, rectum and other parts of the body of this decomposed elephant, he added.
Chief conservator of forest cum field director PTR M P Singh said such negligent officials whosoever they may be will have to face music.
Mahaling further said there is a forest camp barely two kilometers away from the site where this decomposed elephant was found but strange enough none of the trackers patrolling the forest area of Goindee which is a protected forest could smell anything.
He said the forest trackers will have to explain this as it is nothing but a sheer negligence of duty.
Further the elephant has so badly decomposed that it is difficult to find out if the dead one is a male one or a female one.
A team of two vet surgeons conducted the autopsy of this dead one but sources said this is not going to help in ascertaining the real cause of death of this elephant.
Sources said just four weeks ago a one and a half month old elephant was found dead in the north division. This elephant was found dead in a sitting posture. This year alone the number of deaths of elephants is around six. There was no word of any lone elephant limping or down with any wound on its body here and this death has robbed the PTR officials of their sleep.
Sources said there is a water nullah at Hakatoowa where comes a couple of elephants and forest trackers could have noticed there too if any elephant was there looking ailing or wounded at all.
Mahaling said he got used the metal detector and there was no beeping sound to suggest any metal inside the body thus he ruled out any shooting down of this elephant by any size pr bore bullet or cartridge.
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