Bhubaneswar, Nov 28 - Poachers have killed a young tusker for ivory in the forests of Sangramal in Orissa's Sambalpur district, officials said Saturday.

The elephant was brutally killed and the mutilated body was discovered by villagers lying in a pool of blood. The villagers informed the forest officials about the elephant's death.

The animal's trunk was chopped into several pieces to extract the ivory.

Forest officials have begun an inquiry into the incident.

"The wild elephant has been killed very cruelly. The elephant was chopped into pieces for ivory," forest range officer Anand Bihar Patel said from Sambalpur, over 300 km from here.

According to a government report, more than 300 elephants in the state have died in the last six years. (IANS)