Wild elephant found dead

A female wild elephant was found dead outside the forest area at Karikkottakkari, near Iritty, here on Monday.

The Forest Department officials said that the elephant was first spotted by locals at around 6 a.m. at Parakkampara, near Karikottakkari, around 2 kilometres outside the Kottiyur Forest Range. The officials said the animal strayed out of the forest area in the morning.

The elephant aged around 20 years collapsed at around 11 a.m. and died, they said.

Forest officials under the Tholambra section immediately rushed to the spot and examined the body. Though a wound was found on one of its legs, preliminary finding was that it could have been caused by fights between elephants and not by gun shots. The officials said the carcass of the body had been examined as part of preparing a mahasar report. They also said veterinarians were taken to the spot for conducting autopsy before burying the carcass.

The vital organs from the carcass would be collected and sent to the laboratory of the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) in Thiruvananthapuram for forensic examination.

The carcass of the animal would be buried in the Kottiyur forest area on July 19, officials said.

The carcass of the animal would be buried in the Kottiyur forest area on Tuesday.