ERODE: A one-and-a-half-year-old elephant calf was killed after it bit a country-made explosive (avutukkai) at Kadambur Hills in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve of Erode district, following which a 43-year-old farmer was arrested by the forest department.
The farmer was identified as Kalimuthu (43) of Guthiyalathur in Kadambur Hills.
According to forest department officials, on January 10, a team of forest staff from Kadambur range was on routine patrol when they found a bloodied carcass of a female elephant calf near Boothikadu range of Guthiyalathur Reserve Forest.
Subsequently, a postmortem was conducted by veterinary surgeons of STR, which revealed that calf died of injuries sustained from the avutukkai.
A special investigation team was formed to track down the culprits.
An investigation revealed Kalimuthu was involved and he was arrested on Monday.
“Farmers sometimes use avutukkai for killing wild boar to save their crops. Kalimuthu has a portion of farmland adjacent to the reserve forest. To save his crops, he had thrown avutukkais near the border of his land. On Saturday, the elephant calf bit an avutukkai and was killed on the spot,” a forest official said, adding, “We are looking for another suspect.”