An ailing male elephant died within the Mettupalayam Forest Range in the early hours of Friday.
Sources in the Forest Department said that they began treatment for the tusker on Thursday after it was found lying on the ground at Sundapatti section of Nellithurai reserve forest. Estimated to be around 11 years old, the veterinarians found wounds on its palate caused 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, which led to its starvation. 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 to resume the treatment at around 6 a.m on Friday, the elephant was found to be dead, according to the sources.
This is the 16th elephant to have died in Coimbatore Forest Division in the past seven months. Sources noted that this is the fourth death this year due to possible infighting among elephants. The Forest Department team carried out the autopsy on Friday.
