The carcass of the 20- year-old elephant with three bullet wounds on its head was found in a pepper plantation situated just 25 metres away from the forest boundary.
South Wayanad divisional forest officer, Abdul Azeez said that the elephant was shot using a country-made gun. “The animal could have been shot at night. We were informed by local residents about the incident at around 12 noon,” he said.
Forest officials said that there were crop raiding incidents by elephants in the area recently and investigation is focusing on whether it was a retaliatory killing by farmers.
Forest veterinary surgeon, V I Jijimon, who conducted the post mortem, said that two bullets were lodged in the brain while one bullet was recovered from the brain stem. He said that the elephant could have been shot in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.
This is the second elephant shooting incident in Wayanad in the last two months.