COIMBATORE:A tusker about 25 years old died due to electrocution at the Shanmuga coffee estate in Valparai forest range in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) on Saturday.
The animal seems to have accidentally touched an electric wire passing overhead with its trunk. The tusks were removed and the carcass buried at the same place, officials said.
The Forest Department received the information about the dead elephant at around 3.30 pm on Saturday. However only on Sunday morning did a department team, including Valparai forest ranger Krishnasamy and forest veterinarian N S Manokaran, visit the spot.
The officials said they were unable go there earlier as it was located in the interior. Besides, by the time they got there, it would not be possible to carry out the postmortem.
“The tusker, about 25 years old, died after it touched an electric wire passing through the estate with its trunk. This obviously happened when it tried to raise the trunk. The lone passes over a low-lying area,” said Krishnasamy.
Dr Manokaran performed the postmortem and took samples from the elephant’s body which were sent for further analysis.
The increase in the number of incidents of wild-elephant deaths in the ATR is worrying wildlife activists. However, this is the first time in recent years that a wild elephant is dying due to electrocution in Valparai.
Sources said that seven elephants had died due to various reasons in the Coimbatore region in 2015. In the ATR, this is the fifth such death.