A female elephant was found dead in a reserve forest area near Sirumugai in Coimbatore district on Friday.
Frontline staff spotted the carcass of the cow elephant at Mothur Pethikuttai, falling under Pethikuttai beat of Sirumugai forest range.
According to the Forest Department, the elephant aged around 41 did not have visible injuries.
A post-mortem examination on the carcass was performed on Friday afternoon in the presence of Forest officials and representatives from non-governmental organisations.
According to Sirumugai Forest Range Officer K. Manoj, the veterinarian who conducted the post-mortem said that the elephant could have died of hepatic disorder.
“Samples of internal organs have been collected and they will be sent to a laboratory for analysis to find the cause of death”, he said.
Since the carcass was found close to the water storage area of the Bhavanisagar reservoir, it was shifted to another area inside the reserve forest and deep-buried after the autopsy.
