20 peacock carcasses found in Khurda village forest

Bhubaneswar: Carcasses of at least 20 peacocks were recovered today from Madhupur village forest area in Odisha's Khurda district, about 25 km from here.

"We have recovered the carcasses from the forest and sent them to Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) for examination, said Dilip Rout, Khurda forest range officer.

Rout said they recovered 20 carcasses from the forest at a distance of seven to eight feet. "We apprehend more carcasses may be lying in far away places. The forest is spread over two kilometer area," Rout said adding more personnel were deployed in the area.

Asked about the cause of death of the large number of peacocks, the Rout said the reason could be ascertained only after the postmortem report.

Villagers, on the other hand, suspected that the incident could be the handiwork of poachers who might have spread paddy laced with poison leading to the death of the national birds.

The veterinary surgeons at the OUAT said the carcasses would be sent to National Institute of HighSecurity Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, for post-mortem.