ERODE: Three elephants including a tusker, a mother and its calf died in two different incidents in the Andhiyur forest division in Erode.
Forest personnel at the Chennampatti forest range found a 35-year-old tusker dead at the Bargur reserve forest early on Sunday morning. "Forest range officer Raja and three forest veterinarians went to the spot and performed an autopsy," said Erode district forest officer N Venkatesh Prabhu. He told TOI that the tusker had died from its injuries after being attacked by another tusker in a fight. The dead tusker had injuries on its stomach which it had suffered from piercing by tusks, he added.
The autopsy was performed based on the guidelines prescribed in the elephant death audit framework. Veterinarians also chopped off its tusks measuring nearly four feet. "We're looking for another tusker which may have also suffered injuries in the fight," he added.
On Saturday, a 40-year-old female elephant and a four-year-old calf were found dead inside the South Bargur reserve forest in the Andhiyur forest division. They may have died on Friday, the DFO said.
He said preliminary autopsy remarks confirmed that they had died of sudden shock. "The shock might have been due to sun stroke or the elephants may have consumed contaminated water leading to a sudden cardiac arrest in the female elephant, while the calf might have died from lack of food," he explained.
The exact reason behind the calf's death has not been ascertained yet as carnivores had eaten the remains. Veterinarians collected a few vital organs for chemical test. The bodies were later buried deep in the forest.
The Andhiyur forest division has registered cases on the elephant deaths and further inquiry is on.
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