A wild male elephant was found dead in the forest area bordering Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday.
A Forest Department official said the tusker, about 30 years old, could have died due to electrocution, after coming in contact with an electric fence.
Its carcass was found in the area adjoining Paradarami under Gudiyatham forest range in Vellore district and Chittoor district forest range in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.
Some local residents spotted the dead elephant in the forest on Tuesday morning when they had taken cattle for grazing and informed Forest Department personnel. Since the region bordered both Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, a team of Forest Department personnel from Gudiyatham forest range and Chittoor range reached the spot for investigation.
Vellore district collector A. Shanmuga Sundaram visited the spot in the afternoon.
Talking to the media, Mr. Sundaram said, “We have asked the locals not to erect electric fences illegally. We will take action against anyone who does.”
A team of veterinarians performed spot post-mortem and buried the pachyderm in the region. Further investigation is on.