Injured elephant dies in Anamalai Tiger Reserve

COIMBATORE: An adult female elephant that sustained injuries during mating with a tusker a few days ago died without responding to the treatment in Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) on Thursday.

According to the forest department, the wild elephant was standing in the middle of a river near Manambolly forest rest house (FRH). Most parts of the elephant had been immersed in the water from Tuesday evening. The elephant did not move from the river, and an attempt to drive it out was made.

A lacerated wound was noticed on the right dorsal aspect of the abdominal region, and the elephant was in severe pain. The injuries were caused during mating with a tusker, according to forest officials.

The forest department started to treat the wild elephant on Wednesday. Medicines were given orally through fruits—pineapple, muskmelon and bananas—partly by direct feeding and the remaining by placing the fruits on the riverbank.

On Thursday morning, an attempt was made to bring the female elephant to the riverbank from water using kumki elephant Swayambhu. But the kumki did not go near the elephant. Another kumki was used, but the injured female elephant did not move from the water.

Later, the female elephant collapsed in the river and died. The carcass was retrieved from the river.

Dr A Sukumar, forest veterinary officer of Coimbatore forest division, and Dr E Vijayaraghavan, forest veterinary assistant surgeon in ATR, will perform a postmortem on Friday morning.