Jharkhand: Elephant found dead in field; tusks missing, poaching angle suspected

Chaibasa (Jharkhand): A female elephant was found dead in a farmland of Deepasai Tola under Jagannathpur police station limits in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district on Friday morning, forest officials said.

They said that both the tusks of the elephant were missing. This has given rise to suspicions that ivory smugglers are involved in this. However, the exact cause of death is yet to be ascertained.

According to information received, villagers spotted a dead elephant in a field and alerted the Forest Department. A team of forest officials reached the spot around 9 a.m. on Friday and conducted a preliminary inspection.

Evidence has been collected from the area, while the carcass is being sent for a postmortem examination.

Forest Department officials said the precise cause of death of the elephant would be known only after the postmortem report is received.

Investigators are examining all possible angles, including natural death, poaching and other causes.

Forest officials said action will be taken based on the autopsy findings and material evidence gathered from the site.

The latest incident adds to a series of elephant deaths in and around Jagannathpur over the past year. Nearly seven elephant deaths have been recorded in the region during this period.

Herds of elephants frequently move through the forested areas around Jagannathpur and often stray into villages and residential settlements, leading to crop damage, destruction of property and recurring human-elephant conflict.

Villagers said ensuring the safety of both local residents and wildlife has become a challenge amid the continued movement of elephant herds through the area.

Jharkhand has witnessed several elephant deaths in the past year. In September, an elephant died in Latehar after coming into contact with an illegally laid live electric wire. In May, a young elephant in Giridih's Dhobri forest range died of starvation and dehydration after getting trapped in thick undergrowth.

In January, an elephant in West Singhbhum's Tonto area succumbed to injuries sustained during a fight with another elephant. In November 2025, the carcasses of three male elephants were recovered from different forests in the Chaibasa division within a span of two weeks.

Elephant deaths due to IED blasts in Maoist-affected areas of the Saranda forests have also been reported in the past.

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