The corpse of an elephant, aged about 20 year was found near a bush at the Riyabari tea estate under Banarhat range this morning, range officer Ajoy Ghosh said.
He said the jumbo had no sign of external injury. The veterinary surgeon was called to conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
A tigress, which was rehabilitated to South Khairbari Tiger Rescue Rehabilitation Centre near Alipurduar in Jalpaiguri along with eighteen other RBTs seven years ago, was found dead at the centre yesterday.
'' Bipasha (19) was found dead at the centre,'' the divisional forest officer (wildlife) Om Prakash said.
He said a post-mortem would determine the cause of death.
The rehabilitation centre was set up in 2005 to shelter tigers rescued from various circuses in West Bengal.
Of 19 tigers, four were sent to Darjeeling zoo, nine died in past seven years, including Bipasha and six remaining at the centre now, said Mr Om Prakash.
Besides the six RBTs at the centre, seven leopards were also doing well, Mr Om Prakash added.
Banarhat Forest Range officer Ajoy Ghosh said a herd of 35-40 elephants has been roaming for past few days at the Surabari and Tota Para areas creating panic among the villagers, who already lost some twenty houses under the feet of the jumbos.
He said the dead elephant might be one of them. He said the pachyderm might have been poisoned.
--UNI
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