COIMBATORE: Officials of the Gudalur forest division have sent organ samples of a six-year-old female elephant, that was found dead in O-valley, to Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), in Coimbatore, after a packet of Organophosphorus, a pesticide used in banana plantations, was found in its small intestine during postmortem on Friday.
Forest officials said the animal was not killed intentionally by grove owners since they would have poisoned jackfruit, mango or banana. In this case, the veterinary surgeon recovered only empty packets of pesticide.
District Forest Officer (DFO) Kommu Omkaram confirmed that the animal died after consuming Organophosphorus and termed the incident very 'dangerous'.
A senior forest official said, "We are looking for damaged farmhouses or kitchens, especially one in the banana plantation, from where the animal could have accidentally consumed it." O-Valley forest range officer U Srinivasan registered a case and informed the Gudalur judicial magistrate about the incident.
Veterinary Assistant Surgeon Rajesh Kumar told The New Indian Express that the animal died within three to four hours after consuming the pesticide due to organ failure. Meanwhile, on Monday, a postmortem was done on a one-week-old elephant calf that was found dead in the Bitherkadu forest range on Sunday. It revealed that the animal had bleeding in the heart.