Skeletal remains of an elephant were found at the opening of a tunnel of the Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP) near Top Slip within the limits of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) on Monday.
According to the Forest Department, staff from the Ulandy forest range of ATR found the skeleton during a patrol on Monday morning.
Ulandy forest range officer A. Kasilingam said that the staff noticed the skeletal remains at the opening of tunnel 1 within the Top Slip forest beat which takes water to Sarkarpathy. He said that skeletal remains were blocked by the grill at the opening of the tunnel which prevents large objects from entering the tunnel.
“The water comes from the Kerala side of the PAP project. Our staff searched the area and collected the remains, including the skeleton. The remains could have possibly come from the Kerala side. The sex of the elephant could not be confirmed,” he said.
According to the department, the spot where the remains of the elephant were found is around 100 metre away from the boundary of the Periyar Tiger Reserve. The staff could not find tushes or tusks of the elephant.
The department said that the a veterinarian will collect samples from the remains for identification of the sex of the elephant.
