BENGALURU: A female elephant was found dead in Ragihalli range of Bannerghatta National Park a couple of days ago. Forest officials said that the pachyderm was 35-40 years old and died due to natural causes. “After conducting a post mortem, we found that the jumbo died due to cardiac arrest. A sharp branch had also pierced through her digestive system. The samples have also been sent for forensic examination,” said BNP Deputy Conservator of Forests, BNN Murthy.
The official added that since there was heavy downpour a couple of days ago, the elephant could have slipped down the hillock and suffered a cardiac arrest. There were no external injury marks on her body and a group of wild dogs had also eaten a portion of her trunk. Laying rumours of man-animal conflict to rest, he said that the incident happened inside the forest patch and not in the periphery. Due to the impact of the slip and fall, two to three trees were also uprooted.
He also added that the death was not because of lack of food or water, because partially digested food was found in the elephant’s stomach. The national park houses a healthy population of pachyderms. The forest department officials stated that there have been no cases of man-animal conflict as rails have been erected and elephant-proof trenches have been dug.