Bhubaneswar, May 10: The alleged killing of five jumbos in the Similipal Tiger Reserve has raised questions about the safety of elephants in Odisha. Moreover, an elephant carcass was recovered in the Kamakshyanagar forest range.

The forest department has suspended ranger Ugrasen Jena for the jumbo deaths in Similipal.

However, department officials attributed the death of the female elephant, whose carcass was found in Kamakshyanagar, to old age or water scarcity.

Experts have collected bone samples from the five burning sites of Nawna south range in Similipal and sent them for testing at the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehra Dun. Though, earlier wildlife activists had found out four burial sites of elephants within the Nawna range, later another site came to the notice of the experts while they were collecting samples from the site, sources said.

Divisional forest officer of the Similipal Tiger Reserve Bikas Das said: “There were five burning sites inside the forests, but two full skeletal remains were recovered from there. However, we have also added samples from all the burning sites as there might be traces of elephant carcass in the soil samples.”

Wildlife expert and member of the State Wildlife Board Jayant Ch. Mardaraj Harichandan said: “Unplanned growth of mining, industrial activities and urbanisation have taken a toll on the traditional jumbo corridors, loss of habitat and ultimately death of pachyderms in the state. While poaching, mining and loss of corridors have affected elephants mainly in Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh, Dhenkanal, Angul, Jharsuguda and Sambalpur districts, rapid urbanisation near Bhubaneswar has also affected the elephant population of the Chandaka Dampara Sanctuary. The death of a female elephant near Kamakshayanagar yesterday could be linked to loss of corridor.”

Principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) J.D. Sharma said: “Corridor loss has affected the elephant population across the state. Industrialisation and mining activities have affected many elephant corridors and some are also affected by the growing housing and agricultural demands. We will convince the people near elephant corridors to take up alternative crops and plants, so that the elephants are not diverted much.”

Elephants are generally attracted towards sugarcane, mohua and mango plants. So, the forest department is trying to convince people near elephant corridors to go for alternate crops and plantation.

“Even plans are on to acquire more land for the critical and endangered elephant corridors from the private occupation (where government or forest land is not available), so that solar fencing and trenching will help in controlling the elephants. We may also add water sources and watch towers for better monitoring of the passages,” Sharma said.

Another senior forest official said: “Villagers and farmers near the elephant corridors are also requested to go for underground storage of paddy instead of in-house storage facilities to keep the pachyderms at bay.”

Saying that sensitisation of people on friendly and pro-elephant behaviour top the agenda of the forest department, Sharma said the Odisha government was mooting a survey for the existing 14 elephant corridors as many had undergone drastic changes because of the changing demographic and industrial scenario.

Forest department sources said that last year, Rs 6 crore was distributed as relief towards the loss because of attack by elephants. While 37 persons were killed by the jumbos, 65 elephants were killed because of various reasons, including poaching, accidents, natural disease and electrocution. The Odisha government provides a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for a human death and Rs 12,000 per hectare for loss of cash crops and Rs 10,000 per hectare for cereal crops.