An elephant calf, believed to be less than a month old, was found dead near Mavanalla watchtower along the Ooty to Masinagudi Road in Singara Range of the Nilgiris on Tuesday.
The forest department officials found the carcass of the animal less than a 100 meters away from the road on Tuesday morning.
E Vijayaraghavan, forest veterinarian, performed an autopsy on the animal and said that it could have died on Moday. He confirmed that it had not been knocked down by a vehicle as it was found a considerable distance away from the road. The autopsy revealed that it had been dehydrated when it died, and also had been suffering from diarrhoea.
