UDAYAPUR: An adult male wild elephant has been found dead in a paddy field in Belaka Municipality-1 of Udayapur district.
The elephant, estimated to be 20 to 25 years old and locally known as ‘Sano Dare’, was found dead in the field on Tuesday.
Gajendra Shrestha, chief of the Division Forest Office in Udayapur, said the elephant was found approximately one kilometre from the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve. According to Shrestha, the elephant had been living in the reserve area for more than a year.
Shrestha said preliminary assessments suggest that the elephant may have died of natural causes. However, the exact cause of death will be determined following a postmortem examination.
As the elephant was found dead near the boundary of the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, the reserve’s authorities are scheduled to conduct the postmortem examination today, he added.