Representative image of a dead elephant in an Indian forest.
Credit: DH Photo
Erode: A 40-year-old female elephant that was under treatment died at Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve here on Friday morning, forest officials said.
According to forest officials, the pachyderm with its two-year-old calf had come to Pudukuiyanur forest area under the Vadavalli forest range in STR in search of water and food on Thursday, but the mother elephant collapsed, and the calf started raising an alarm.
Hearing the noise, people living nearby informed forest officials.
A team of forest officials along with Dr Sadhashivam, the forest veterinary doctor rushed to the spot. They examined the elephant and administered medicine. Despite their efforts, the elephant died this morning. The carcass was left in place for vultures and other animals to feed on, as per relatively recent changes made to the procedure for disposal of wild animal carcasses, in order to support the forest ecosystem.
Meanwhile, the baby elephant joined a group of five or six elephants that came out from the nearby forest area after hearing her cries, the officials said.