A female elephant, which collapsed due to illness on a private land in Periya Thadagam village in Coimbatore district on Sunday morning, died on Monday without responding to the treatment administered by the Forest Department.
T.K. Ashok Kumar, District Forest Officer of Coimbatore Forest Division, said the elephant was declared dead around 6 p.m. on Monday after over 30 hours of treatment. Estimated to be over 45 years old, the elephant likely died of “age-related ailments,” he said.
“We conducted a blood test in the morning and its haemoglobin and blood sugar levels were found to be normal,” Mr. Kumar said. However, the elephant refused to consume water, fruits or other food items. Veterinary Assistant Surgeon of Mudumalai Tiger Reserve K. Rajesh Kumar and a team of veterinarians administered intravenous fluids, antibodies, vitamins and other drugs to revive the elephant. “Despite intensive treatment by the veterinarians for two days, the elephant died,” the DFO said.
On Sunday morning, the adult elephant was found collapsed on a private land in Periya Thadagam village within Coimbatore Forest Range. The Forest Department, led by Coimbatore Forest Range Officer R. Arun Kumar, swung into action by covering its body with pieces of wet gunny sack cloth and erecting a marquee (shamiana) to cover the ailing elephant from the hot sun and prevent dehydration. It consumed a few pieces of watermelon and a couple of nutritious balls made of jaggery, tamarind, turmeric and salt on Sunday evening, but the elephant could not stand on its own legs since Sunday despite efforts by the personnel to lift it using an earth mover.
The carcass will be autopsied on Tuesday morning, following which the cause of death will likely be ascertained, according to Mr. Kumar.
