Baripada, Oct. 16: The Mayurbhanj wildlife department deployed a drone to approach a dead elephant, the first time that the forest department has used this advanced surveillance technology to check on animals within its jurisdiction.

Villagers living near the Digdiga reserve forest under Dukura range in the buffer region of the Similipal Tiger Reserve spotted the body of a five-year-old male elephant on Friday. However, department officials could not approach the spot as a herd of 20 jumbos, including its mother and two tuskers, was guarding the body.

The wildlife department then pressed the drone into service, which was recently donated by the Wildlife Trust of India for surveillance and other purposes. "We flew the drone over the area and monitored images o a screen in real time. Once we were sure that the herd had left, forest personnel approached the elephant's body," said Wildlife Trust of India facilitator Rudra Mohapatra.

The baby jumbo is suspected to have died of anthrax. Blood was oozing out from various orifices.

Forest officials then burnt the body after collecting blood samples for test at the Animal Diseases Research Institute near Cuttack.

"The symptoms suggested that the elephant had died of anthrax. We burnt the body yesterday," said Dukura range officer Batakrushna Padhy .

Over the past two years, 17 pachyderms have died in and around the Similipal sanctuary with laboratory tests confirming the presence of anthrax bacteria in most cases.

Tiger reserve deputy director Ajit Satpathy said the latest death suggested that there was a primary source of bacteria in the Sansol patch.

"The herd spent over a month moving in the area with the elephants shuttling between Sansol and Digdiga. The bacterial infection takes around three weeks to turn fatal and we presume that the primary source is active in the patch," said Satpathy.

"We will disinfect and sanitise the ponds and water bodies to kill the bacteria," he added.