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A female calf, aged around two-three years, was found dead at Kongarpalayam in Kadamburforest in Erode district on Thursday morning. The cause of death is yet to be ascertained.
On Thursday morning, a group of tribals, who ventured deep inside the forest, spotted the carcass of the elephant and immediately alerted the forest officials.
The officials reached the spot and examined the carcass. “We did not spot any movement of elephant herd in the area and the carcass looked like it had been there for more than 48 hours,” said TN Palayam forest ranger.
Since the officials did not find any visible injury on the carcass, the cause of death is likely to be known only after the postmortem that is scheduled for Friday. “We suspect that the animal must have contracted a disease. There are also possibilities that the calf may have been abandoned by her pack,” the forest ranger said.