An elephant was shot dead by poachers near Ammatti in Kodagu district in the early hours of Monday. The 20-year-old animal was shot using a rifle from close range in a coffee plantation.
An official said the carcass of the animal was found at the plantation in the evening. It may have died of gunshot wounds.
He said the poachers, looking for a wild boar, may have killed the elephant instead.
Going by the gunshot wounds, the poachers must have shot the jumbo from close range. “They aimed at his forehead and killed it. It must have died within minutes,” the official said. The bullet has been recovered from the animal’s brain. The postmortem was conducted late on Monday evening.