Sambalpur: A 65-year-old male captive elephant, Kharsel, passed away due to age-related issues at Debrigarh wildlife sanctuary on Monday. Anshu Pragyan Das, divisional forest officer (DFO) of Hirakud, said the body was buried under a ficus tree where it had spent its last years. It came to Debrigarh in 1998.
The sanctuary authorities, in a press note, said that for the past five to six months, Kharsel had shown signs of declining health, and he was eating and walking slowly.Kharsel was on medication under Dr Indramani Nath, an expert from the Centre of Wildlife Studies, Bhubaneswar.
He had also performed an eye surgery on Kharsel in 2022.
The elephant was undergoing treatment by Sambalpur zoo’s veterinary doctor, N Mishra, since Aug 24 when it was found limping in its left hind leg. It had been under saline treatment and light therapy as it struggled to eat and walk. Kharsel was laid down on Thursday. Further treatment was carried out by a veterinary assistant surgeon of Burla from Friday to Monday. Despite their efforts, Kharsel’s condition worsened, and he died at 4 pm.
The elephant was captured from the Kharsel reserve forest in Balangir in 1998 after it had attacked an killed several people.
After its capture, Kharsel became partially blind and attempted to escape several times in 2005-2009. In recent years, due to muscle pain and blurred vision, Kharsel’s movement within Debrigarh was restricted, and it was only allowed short walks to the Hirakud reservoir for bathing.
A memorial board on the burial ground is being prepared to honour Kharsel.

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