A female elephant and its calf were found dead in a tea estate near Valparai in Coimbatore district on Saturday. The Forest Department suspects that the elephant and the calf could have died due to complications during the delivery.
The carcasses of the cow elephant and the calf were found in a marsh inside a tea estate at Thaimudi within the limits of the Manambolly forest range of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR).
According to the Forest Department, field staff and estate workers had seen the elephant roaming in the locality in the pregnancy stage. The elephant was found dead with signs of blood loss. The calf was found around 20 metres away from its mother.
ATR Deputy Director K. Bhargava Teja said that the carcasses were autopsied on Sunday. The post-mortem findings did not indicate anything unnatural.
“We have collected samples from the carcasses for further examination,” he said. The carcasses were buried in the same area after the autopsy.
