A wild elephant was found dead with gunshot wounds at Janajagaran Community Forest in ward 10 of Sundar Haraicha Municipality in Morang district on Wednesday.

According to Lal Bahadur Majhi, forest officer at the Division Forest Office in Salakpur, the elephant sustained bullet injuries in the left front leg and neck. “The poacher killed the elephant and took away its tail,” said Majhi.

Poaching of wild animals like wild boar and spotted deer in the community forest. A herd of more than two dozen wild animals has been wreaking havoc in Charkoshe jungle areas of Jhapa, Sunsari and Morang for the past two months.