A tusker was found dead with marks of blood stain on its trunk and injury marks on its ears and thighs at Baniapalli reserve forest under Mujagarh forest range of North Ghumusar forest division in Ganjam district Saturday.

The exact cause of the death is yet to be determined, but forest officials said it could be due to a fight between elephants, gunshot wounds, or an electric shock. Officials said the actual cause will be known after the post-mortem report is available to them.

Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Himanshu Sekhar Mohanty and Ranger Bimbadhar Sahu visited the site and launched an investigation.

A post-mortem of the animal was conducted after a Joint Task Force (JTF) team from Bhubaneswar reached the spot in the afternoon.

Preliminary investigation suggested that the elephan

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