Itanagar: The decomposed carcasses of two adult elephants were found by an Eco Development Committee (EDC) team in the Mebo area of Arunachal on Saturday. It is suspected that poachers killed the two elephants and captured a calf near Siluk village under Pasighat forest division in East Siang district.

The EDC members, following a tip off from local villagers, scoured the forests near Siluk and found the two carcasses from a stretch near the Ngopok-Siluk PWD road, sources said here on Monday. It is believed the elephants were killed for their tusks.

According to locals, elephant herds arrive in the Siluk area every December from Poba Reserve Forest and Daying Ering Wildlife Sanctuary. They said a number of tuskers that had entered the area had been killed by poachers in the last few years. Rising incidents of elephant poaching in Mebo's jungles have alarmed the state wildlife board (SWB) and EDC. The organizations have criticized the territorial forest department for its alleged 'inaction' in protecting wildlife and other forest resources in the area.