COIMBATORE: An ailing tusker which was under treatment by forest department veterinarians in the Mettupalayam forest range died on Friday. Forest department officials said that it had a wound on its palate that could have resulted in infighting with another tusker, leading to starvation.
This is the 16th elephant death reported in the Coimbatore forest division this year.
Sources in the Forest Department said that they began providing treatment for the tusker from Thursday after it was found lying on the ground at Sundampatti section of Nellithurai reserve forest in the Mettupalayam forest range. But the elephant died in the early hours of Friday without responding to the treatment, said officials.
Estimated to be around 11 years old, the veterinarians found wounds on its palate probably due to a fight with another male elephant. Preliminary investigations revealed that the wounds were inflicted nearly 10 days prior to the elephant's death, they said.
A team from the Forest Department administered 32 bottles of glucose to the ailing elephant on Thursday. As they returned to the spot in the Nellithurai reserve forest at around 6 am on Friday for resuming the treatment, the elephant was found dead, sources said.
A forest team consisting of forest veterinary officer A Sugumar and veterinary doctor Rajeshkumar from Thekkampatti conducted a post-mortem on the elephant in front of department officers and NGOs. Later, the carcass of the animal was buried in the forest, said officials.
The state government constituted a seven-member expert committee in the first week of July to study elephant deaths in the Coimbatore forest division since January 2017.
The committee has to submit the report within six months.