A female elephant died after getting stuck in mud for quite long hours in a forest under the Kamakhyanagar range of Dhenkanal district, a forest official said on Thursday.
The pachyderm was around three to four years of age, he speculated.
The carcass of the jumbo was spotted by local residents early in the morning near Danara pond of Kankili village under the Kamakhyanagar western range.
Locals questioned as to how Forest Department staffs could not know the animal getting stuck. It was only after detection of the carcass, forest personnel reached the spot.
A herd of five elephants had been wandering in the nearby areas on Tuesday afternoon. The herd went to the pond to drink water and got stuck. However, four of the animals came out of the mud and went into the Kankili reserve forest, a local villager informed.
On being contacted, Kamakhyanagar Forest Ranger Banabihari Sardar said, “The actual reason behind death of the elephant can be ascertained only after a thorough probe.”