Baripada, Dec. 9: A tusker was found dead near Nahana village in the Gudugudia range of Karanjia forest division.

Till date, at least seven jumbos, including a calf, have died in Mayurbhanj in the last three weeks. The tusker, which was around 15 to 18 years old, was found dead last evening.

Forest officials said a herd was guarding the body and their the employees could not approach the area to recover the body. Increasing incidents elephant deaths have become a cause of grave concern. In Karanjia forest division itself, this is the second death reported in the last one week.

Prasanna Kumar Behera, the divisional forest officer of Karanjia said: "No definite reason for the death of the tusker could be attributed at this point of time. However, autopsy will be carried out today. An expert team from Bhubaneswar is arriving here for the probe."

An honorary wildlife warden, Bhanumitra Acharya, however, said: "From the signs and symptoms, one can safely say that it is a case of death due to poisoning. Either, it was poisoned by the poachers or it had consumed pesticide or insecticide sprinkled in the farmland. It has to be investigated properly."

On December 3, a carcass of an adult female elephant was found at Champagad forest in Kendumundi range of Karanjia.