A male elephant was found dead by Forest Department officials in the Begur forest range of the North Wayanad forest division on Sunday.
Officials attached to the forest division and veterinarians performed a necropsy in the evening . Forest Department officials said they found the carcass on Sunday morning at the Alathur reserve forest, near Kattikulam in the district.
They traced the elephant based on inputs from villagers about a fight between two elephants. Alathur hamlet in Thirunelly grama panchayat is known for the highest number of man-animal conflicts in the district and a huge tract of rice field in the area was destroyed by a herd of elephants two days ago, villagers said.
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Estimated to be around 45 years old, the elephant died owing to the serious injuries caused by a fight with another one, according to the officials.