COIMBATORE: A 35-year-old elephant was killed in a fight with another tusker in the Valparai forest range of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) on Monday evening. This is the third wild elephant death reported within the Pollachi division of the ATR this year.
According to sources, after hearing the trumpeting of the tuskers, field level staff of the waterfall estate of the Valparai range tracked the animal inside the reserve forest at Andiparai at around 10 am on Monday. However, they did not disturb the animals. Subsequently, both the animals went deep inside the forest. Later, one of them was found dead at 3.30 pm on Monday evening.
The animal had a deep injury on its lower jaw and back caused by a tusk. A postmortem was carried out by A Sugumar, the Coimbatore forest veterinarian, and Meyyarasan, veterinarian of the animal husbandry department, in front of members of the NGO Nature Conservation Foundation on Tuesday morning.
According to S Arokiyaraj Xavier, Deputy Director of ATR and District Forest officer of the Pollachi forest division, "Among the four forest ranges coming under the Pollachi division, except Ulanthi forest range, three elephants were found dead, one each in Valparai, Manampalli and Pollachi forest range, so far this year."
It should be noted that a total of 20 elephants have died in the Coimbatore forest division so far this year.