Korba, October 26: An elephant calf was found dead in Chhattisgarh's Korba district on Monday, taking the count of pachyderm deaths in the state in the last five months to 15, officials said.

The carcass of the baby jumbo was found near a pond in Lalpur village in Kendai forest range and a post mortem has been ordered to find out the exact cause of death, said Shama Farooqui, Divisional Forest Officer, Katghora division. Elephant Dies in Chhattisgarh, Herd of Elephants Gather Around Dead Body in Surajpur, Carcass Yet to Be Retrieved by Forest Department.

On October 17 too, an elephant calf had died after falling into a pond in Kendai while another had been killed in a tiger attack in Udanti-Sitanadi tiger reserve in Gariaband district.

Chhattisgarh has witnessed 15 elephant deaths, including that of three calves, since June and most of them have taken place in Surguja, Korba, Balrampur, Surajpur, Raigarh, Jashpur and Koriya districts, which are known for human-animal conflicts.