Wild elephant found dead near Huma

• It had fallen into the well on Friday night
• Tusker was around 35 to 40 years

People gather as the forest department personnel prepare
to burry the dead elephant (after removing the tusks)
that had fallen into a well near Humma in
Ganjam district, on Saturday. —Photo: Lingaraj Panda

The carcass of a wild tusker was located in a large well near Huma of Khallikote forest range in Berhampur forest division on Saturday morning.

It was suspected to be one of the two elephants that had survived the accident of Coromandel Express with a herd of elephants near Rambha on December 29 . In that accident five elephants were killed.

Recent ill-fated elephant had fallen into the well during Friday night.

It had not been able to escape out of the deep well and had got drowned.

On receiving information about it from villagers, forest officials including Berhampur Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), S. S. Mishra rushed to the spot. Carcass of the wild pachyderm was taken out of the well with help of an excavator.

Its tusks were cut down.

According to Berhampur DFO,the dead tusker was around 35 to 40 years . After the train accident in which most of members of this herd were killed the two elephants that had survived were roaming in Jhinkaria and Dumunagiri hills.

On Friday night they had come near Huma due to the lure of harvested paddy dumps in fields.

The well in which the elephant had fallen had a diameter of 22 feet.

It did not have a proper wall around it. Water in it was 22 feet deep.

There was a large banyan tree. Khallikote ranger of Forest Department, Bijay Hota suspected that the elephant may also have been lured by the green leaves of the banyan tree as they are also delicacy for elephants. It had fallen into the well by accident.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-otherstates/wild-elephant-found-dead-near-huma/article4325235.ece