COIMBATORE: Two days after the death of Chillikomban, a wild elephant who fell into a contour canal and was swept away, forest officials said the elephant had been weakened by injuries sustained in a fight with another elephant and was starving since a couple of days.
Referred to as Chillikomban as its tusks resembled green chillies, the 40-year-old wild elephant’s carcass was retrieved on Sunday morning after being carried along the 49-km canal to Thirumurthy Dam.
The clarification by forest officials comes in the wake of a section of online media portals in Kerala alleging that the animal was unable to bear the pain and ended its life by falling into the canal.
The postmortem, carried out by a team of three veterinarians, revealed two large wounds beneath the abdomen and under the tail.
According to D Venkatesh, Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) and Field Director of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR),
“Two major wounds penetrated approximately 15 cm into the body. Maggots were found infesting these wounds. Based on these observations, it is evident that the injuries were sustained during a fight with another elephant.
Moreover, we observed several minor injuries on the tusker’s body. The elephant had not consumed any food for three to four days preceding its death, and no food particles were found in its stomach during the postmortem," he said.
"The elephant likely attempted to enter the water due to these injuries. However, since it was in a severely debilitated state due to starvation and major injuries, it entered the PAP canal where it was swept away by the strong current. Due to extreme exhaustion, the elephant was unable to climb out and eventually drowned," Venkatesh added.
Meanwhile, a video of Chillikomban, portrayed by animal lovers as the "hero" of Nelliyampathy in Kerala and Navamalai in Tamil Nadu for its non-aggressive behaviour towards humans surfaced on Monday. The video showed the elephant raising its trunk while being swept away in the contour canal.