Ongoing Elephant Deaths in Jharkhand: Another Body Found in West Singhbhum
Jharkhand faces a troubling rise in elephant deaths, with another carcass discovered in West Singhbhum, raising concerns among locals.
West Singhbhum, November 4 (Daily Kiran) : The troubling trend of elephant deaths continues in Jharkhand, with the latest incident occurring in West Singhbhum’s Tankura area. On Wednesday morning, villagers discovered an elephant carcass in a field. This marks the fourth reported elephant death in various forest regions of the state over the past two months.
The body was found near Burmah Toli in the Tankura settlement, within the jurisdiction of the Barajamda police station. Just the evening before, a herd of around 20 elephants had entered the village’s outskirts. Villagers alerted the forest department for assistance, but no team arrived at the scene.
Taking matters into their own hands, the villagers stayed awake through the night, working to drive the herd away from their village. Upon dawn, they encountered the dead elephant in the field. The cause of death is currently unclear, though locals suspect electrocution. A post-mortem examination is expected to provide more information. The community is demanding an impartial investigation into the forest department’s role in the incident.
Previously, on October 28, another elephant was found dead in the Bishunpur forest area of the Latehar district. Following the report of that carcass, a team from the forest department arrived on-site. The next day, under the leadership of Ranger Nandkumar Mahto, officials and veterinarians conducted an examination and suggested that inter-elephant conflict could be a potential cause of death.
Earlier in October, a female elephant was also found dead in Bhangaon, Jagannathpur, with both tusks missing, raising suspicions about poaching for ivory. The forest department initiated an investigation in that case as well. Over the past year, reports indicate that seven elephants have died in this region.
On September 7, an elephant was killed after becoming entangled in electric wires in Komar village, Latehar district. A herd of about 15 elephants had approached nearby fields when one became ensnared in wires set up to protect crops and homes. This incident highlights the increasing movement of elephants near villages bordering forests in Jharkhand, prompting residents to adopt dangerous measures to safeguard their properties.
