A 7-year-old male Asiatic wild dog, also known as a dhole, was found dead in Bokkapuram in the Singara Forest Range in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) on Thursday.
The autopsy revealed that the animal died from an aortic rupture. The officials said that this was the first time that they had recorded a wild dog dying of an aortic rupture in MTR. “Wild dogs pursue their prey over multiple kilometres. The animal’s age, combined with exhaustion, could have resulted in its death,” said Deputy Director of MTR (Buffer Zone) P. Arunkumar. Samples of the animals visceral organs have been sent for further forensic analysis, he said.
