The carcass of the female elephant, found on Saturday in the Pollachi forest range under the Anamalai Tiger Reserve, bore several injuries that were likely inflicted by a male elephant.
The carcass was autopsied on Sunday by A. Sukumar, Forest Veterinary Officer of the Coimbatore Forest Division, in the presence of Pollachi forest range officer V. Pugalenthi, at the Mangarai beat of the Sethumadai east section.
Mr. Sukumar said the elephant, aged between 30 and 35, might have died on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday as the carcass did not show any sign of decomposition when it was found by forest personnel on Saturday evening.
“The core wound was found near its vagina, which might have been caused by the tusk of a male elephant,” Mr. Sukumar said. Internal haemorrhage was also detected in the forehead and the chest area, and its lungs were “filled with blood”.
The elephant might have resisted mating attempts by a tusker, which could have attacked it for lack of compatibility, he noted. Samples were collected from the carcass for a histopathological analysis. The carcass was left in the wild for scavengers after the autopsy.
This is the fourth elephant to die in the Pollachi division of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve this year. The total number of elephant deaths in Coimbatore district, including the Coimbatore Forest Division, has gone up to 12 this year.
