NILGIRIS: A female elephant died due to age-related ailments at Singara forest range in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) on Tuesday.
Singara forest range officer John Peter said, “The animal could be around 50 years old and due to its age, it was not able to digest food. We found undigested grass in her stomach. Due to this the animal remained weak in the last couple of days and died on Tuesday morning.”
K Rajesh Kumar, veterinary assistant surgeon of Theppakadu, carried out post mortem examination in the presence of MTR Deputy Director P Arun Kumar and members of the NGO. “We recorded the death of the animal at the place of the death itself in an app as per the guidelines of Tamil Nadu Elephant Death Audit Framework, attaching videos and photos of the carcass along with the exact reason for the death. This was introduced by the Tamil Nadu forest department to bring transparency in the postmortem and understand the cause of death of animals,” John Peter said.
After post-mortem, the carcass was left in the open for vultures to feed upon.
Meanwhile, a six-year-old leopard was found dead at Nelliyalam village near Pandalur in the Gudalur forest division in Nilgiris district on Monday. Postmortem examination revealed the animal died due to fighting with another leopard.