MADIKERI: An elephant rehabilitated at Mathigodu elephant camp near Thithimathi in Kodagu died due to suspected organ failure. Hunsuru division and Thithimathi division foresters conducted a postmortem of the elephant and buried the carcass in the forest.
The 50-year-old male elephant Subramanya had claimed the lives of two people in the Subramanya forest range of Kabada taluk in February this year. Tamed elephants from the Kodagu division were pulled in to capture the conflict elephant, after which the captivated tusker was rehabilitated at Mathigodu elephant camp.
After rigorous training, the tusker was out of the crawl after training and was friendly with the other inhabitants of the camp. On Saturday noon, the elephant suddenly collapsed. The foresters immediately tried lifting the elephant using a crane. But, the elephant breathed its last. Hunsur division ACF Dayanand said, “The elephant was suffering from arthritis, septicaemia (bacterial infection) and multiple organ failure is suspected to have caused the death.”