Elephant calf found dead in reserve forest near Coimbatore

An elephant calf was found dead in a reserve forest area of the Karamadai forest range on Monday, taking the number of elephant casualties reported in the Coimbatore Forest Division this year to 10.

An elephant calf was found dead in a reserve forest area of the Karamadai forest range on Monday, taking the number of elephant casualties reported in the Coimbatore Forest Division this year to 10.

The veterinarians, who conducted the post-mortem examination, said that the calf, aged between four and five years, could have died of a sudden infection of bacteriological or virological origin.

The male calf was found dead on a riverbed in Manar forest beat falling under Melur slope reserve forest of the Karamadai forest range. The carcass was around three days old.

A team of veterinarians headed by Forest Veterinary Officer A. Sukumar conducted the post-mortem of the calf in the presence of Forest Department officials and representatives from non-governmental organisations.

According to the veterinarians, the elephant calf did not have external injuries and other visible signs of injuries or diseases. Its small intestine and stomach were found empty. However, there were remains of dung in the rectum. The veterinarians suspect that the elephant had a sudden onset of an infection of bacteriological or virological origin. 

As the carcass was in the decomposing stage, samples were not collected for analyses to check bacterial infection. A sample from the thigh bone of the elephant was collected to check for the presence of any virus. It will be sent to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, in an ice-packed container for diagnosis, said officials.