NILGIRIS: A makhna elephant was found dead, allegedly due to age-related ailments, on the Masinagudi-Theppakkadu road in the wee hours of Tuesday.
The carcass of the animal aged 50 was spotted by the Masinagudi police patrol vehicle at 4.50am. They informed the Masinagudi forest range staff since tourist vehicle movement is banned between Masinagudi and Theppakadu between 8 pm and 6 am.
Since the carcass was found in the middle of the road, vehicle movement, which is allowed after the opening of the Masinagudi forest check post at 6 am, was affected. Due to this, a large number of tourist vehicles queued up for over two hours and resumed after the body of the animal was moved from the road.
Earlier, a rumour had spread that the animal had died under mysterious circumstances, as it had external injuries. However, after postmortem examinations carried out by assistant veterinary surgeons of Theppakadu, Masinagudi, and Thalaikundha, it was found that the animal had bruises on its legs that could have occurred when the animal moved about, and a sharp tree branch could have possibly pierced the animal's front leg.
"We have lifted heart and kidney samples to find out the exact cause of death, and preliminary indications are that the animal's movement slowed down due to organ failure due to its age," an official said.
MTR Deputy Director P Arun Kumar said, "The makhna elephant was roaming within Masinagudi. During postmortem, we observed there was a failure in the functioning of its heart and liver that led to the animal becoming weak and ultimately dying."