A tusker, which had been relocated to the Elephant Rescue Centre located at Kapilash in Dhenkanal district on Saturday, died in the wee hours on Sunday.
The exact cause of the death would be ascertained after postmortem of the carcass, informed the DFO.
According to reports, the tusker had wreaked havoc in several villages in the Kantamal area in Boudh district after its mahout was arrested and sent to jail on the charge of ganja smuggling.
The elephant reportedly had killed two persons and destroyed farmlands following the incident.
Forest officials in Boudh captured the tusker by tranquilising it and relocated it to the Kapilash Elephant Rescue Centre for its adequate maintenance. However, the animal died.
An overdose of tranquiliser was suspected the reason behind the tusker’s death.
