3 more carcasses found

BARIPADA: Even as the Forest Department has initiated a probe into the alleged poisoning of five elephants in the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) in Mayurbhanj district, recovery of decomposed bodies of three more elephants, including a 10-year-old tusker, on Monday has put the forest officials in a fix.On May 6, bones and skulls of four elephants, probably a male, a female and a calf, were dug out close to each other in the core area of the park, while that of another baby elephant was found about a km away. Later the body of another jumbo was recovered by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) during his spot visit.Sources said a four-member team of wildlife activists of Mayurbhanj traced the carcasses of the elephants near Ballikhal under Nawana South range inside Similipal on Monday.The team informed the Regional Conservator of Forests (RCF) and the Field Director of Similipal.Meanwhile, a team of forest officials visited the spot to investigate the matter. “We had gone to the spot and suspect that the jumbos were poisoned to death. The veterinary doctor of Jashipur has carried out the postmortem and samples have been collected for forensic test,” said a forest official.“We have detained four people of Gopinathpur and Parsia villages in connection with poaching of elephants,” he added.