Kolkata: The carcass of a full-grown the elephant was found at Lalgarh in West Bengals Jhargram district on Monday, a senior forest official said.
The tusker was suspected to have been electrocuted, Chief Wildlife Warden V K Yadav told PTI.
The carcass was found in jhitka beat under Lalgarh forest range of the district.
“Our team has gone to the spot to get details. Prima facie it appears to be a case of electrocution,” Yadav said.
Another forest official said the elephant was part of a herd of 30-40 jumbos which are camping in the nearby forest for the past couple of days after straying from Dalma.
“As the elephants are destroying paddy by invading into farmlands there is a possibility that various tactics are adopted by some villagers to prevent them from entering into field. We are examining the possibility of live electrical wires put up around the field to thwart the pachyderms. The autopsy will confirm the exact cause of death,” the official said.
While nine elephants had earlier died in Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts in the northern part of Bengal in recent times, five of the deaths were due to electrocution, there had not been any report of unnatural jumbo death in southern districts in recent times, the official said.