A 25-year-old male elephant was found dead near the Suruliyar lower camp in Theni on Tuesday.
Preliminary investigation by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department suggested that the animal was electrocuted about three days ago in Udupiyar Saragam in Cumbum East range. Since the elephant’s carcass was found without its tusks, Forest Department officials suspect it to be a case of poaching.
This takes the death toll of jumbos in the last three months to six in the Venniyar Reserve Forest area in the Cumbum East range, an alarming number, according to environmentalists.
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S. Kalanithi, Wildlife Warden, Meghamalai, said the carcass was found near an electricity board station in Cumbum East.
“The elephant’s body was found dead below a high tension line hanging at a height of 8.5- 9 feet belonging to Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco),” he said.
Another senior Forest officer stated that the elephant’s tusk was forcefully removed by poachers.
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A senior officer from the Kerala Forest Department said forest personnel intercepted two men carrying 9.215 kg of ivory cut into four pieces at the periphery of Kumily town on Monday.
“We arrested R. Ganga, 37, and A. Prabhu, 34, at Rosapoo Kandam in Kumily and questioned them. The accused confessed that the tusk was removed from the Tamil Nadu forest area in Venniyar,” he said. Officials from Forest Departments of both the States said that they were trying to establish a connection between the two events.
The Kerala Forest Department interrogated the two accused and have produced them before Judicial Magistrate 1 at Peermade. The court remanded them in judicial custody for 15 days.
Tangedco’s cooperation
In Theni, Mr. Kalanithi said the post-mortem would be conducted on Wednesday to ascertain cause of death and the age of the elephant. High-level meetings were held between members of Tamil Nadu Forest and Tangedco to prevent further deaths.
“Tangedco needs to be vigilant and ensure high towers are placed across the range. Our department will help in identifying vulnerable spots,” said another senior officer.
A post-mortem was conducted on the carcass of a 20-year-old male elephant that was found dead in the Bennai reserve forest in the Nilakottai forest range in the core zone of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) on Tuesday.
Speaking to The Hindu , R Suresh Kumar, forest range officer (Nilakottai Range), said the carcass was discovered on Sunday, but the autopsy had to be delayed due to a lack of veterinarians.
“The animal was completely healthy, but it seems to have suffered a fall from a height of around 10 feet,” said Mr. Suresh Kumar, adding that the animal’s hind legs got entangled in a vine during the fall, leading to serious injuries.
On Tuesday, a retired veterinarian was brought to perform the autopsy, which was overseen by the Deputy Director of MTR (Core Zone), S Senbagapriya. The tusks of the elephant were removed during the post-mortem as per the NTCA guidelines, officials said, adding that the carcass was left for scavengers.
( With inputs from Rohan Premkumar in Udhagamandalam )