‘Alarming’: Probe ordered after Odisha sees 50 unnatural elephant deaths this year

“The government has been taking various steps to prevent the unnatural death of the elephants through several steps, such as deployment of Gaja Sathis and Rapid Action Teams, etc. But, more care and sincerity on the part of forest officials have become the need of the hour,” the forest minister said.

He said the officers found “negligent and inefficient” in safeguarding the life of elephants would be held accountable. The minister also sought a detailed probe into deaths under various forest divisions.

Even though the All Odisha Elephant Census-2024, conducted by the state government, found a slight increase in the number of elephants in Odisha, their unnatural deaths – caused mostly by poachers – have been a cause for concern. The 2024 elephant census report, which was released in June, found that there were 2,098 elephants in Odisha’s 38 forest divisions, compared to 1,976 in the 2017 survey.

The 2,098 elephants include 313 adult tuskers, 13 adult makhna (Asiatic male elephants without tusks), 748 adult females, 148 sub-adult males, 282 sub-adult females, 209 juvenile elephants and 385 calves.

The Forest Department had earlier suspended some of its officers for negligence in elephant deaths. In December 2022, three forest officials of Similipal Tiger Reserve, including a ranger, were suspended for their role in withholding information about elephant deaths. They were later arrested over the alleged murder of a whistleblower. In July this year, two forest officers, including a forester in Angul, were suspended over dereliction of duty.