A full-grown rogue elephant that had been found injured at Sholayur in Attappady’s Agali forest range three weeks ago died on Wednesday.
The tuskless male elephant called ‘makna’ succumbed to deep wounds it suffered in its mouth and pharynx apparently after chomping on an explosive. Forest officers suspected that the animal suffered the wound while being in Tamil Nadu region.
The elephant, which used to cross the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border frequently in the last two years, was nicknamed bulldozer by the people of Attappady. The elephant had razed down at least two dozen tribal huts in the period. However, it never attacked any human being.
A team of forest officers and veterinarians led by Forest Veterinary Officer Arun Zacharia and Agali Forest Range Officer K.T. Udayan had attended to the elephant after tranquillising it through darting on August 22. The elephant was administered medicines, but Dr. Zacharia had seen the prognosis quite bleak.
Reappearance on Sunday
The elephant vanished into Tamil Nadu forest areas and re-emerged at Attappady on Sunday. Although it began to drink some water, it had become too weak.
Dr. Zacharia and team had found the wound very deep and its tongue had been torn. Its snorkel valve was badly damaged. “An explosion would most likely be the cause of injury. We could not follow up the treatment as the animal drifted away into Tamil Nadu side of the jungle,” said Dr. Zacharia.
Even as the forest officers watched, the three-metre tall elephant fell at Marappalam near Anakkatty on the State border on Wednesday. Assistant forest veterinary surgeon Arun Satyan conducted a necropsy.
The tribespeople of Attappady led by Vellinkiri and Lakshmi conducted a special puja for the dead elephant. They said the elephant never attacked them and they owed their respect to it.
The carcass was shifted to a nearby private plot and buried there using a crane. Mr. Udayan said that a case was registered and an investigation would be launched based on the findings in the necropsy. “We will hand over the case to Tamil Nadu if needed,” he said. Mannarkkad Divisional Forest Officer Sunil Kumar supervised the operations.
