Odisha: Vet attacked by wild elephants while treating female jumbo in Kuldiha Reserve Forest

The incident happened when a team of forest officials and the doctor went to the forest to rescue and treat an ailing female elephant

Balasore: A veterinary doctor was attacked and injured by a herd of jumbos while he was treating an ailing elephant in a forest area in Odisha’s Balasore district, an officer said on Wednesday.

The veterinarian was hospitalised after the incident, he said. The incident happened in the Kuldiha Reserve Forest on Tuesday when a team of forest officials and the doctor went to the forest to rescue and treat an ailing female elephant. The elephant got stuck in the mud after falling off an embankment near Risia Lake, the forest officer said.

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All of a sudden, a herd of wild elephants reached the spot. Apprehending danger, the jumbos chased the rescue team. The veterinary doctor of the Nilagiri Veterinary Hospital, Subhasis Mahapatra, fell while escaping from the spot and was attacked by a jumbo, he said.

The others, however, managed to run away from the spot. The forest officials managed to rescue the injured doctor. He was in a senseless condition. They took him to the Balasore District Headquarters Hospital.

Later, the doctor was shifted to the SCB Medical College in Cuttack and his condition remains critical, the forest officer added.