Forest officials patrolling the Irattai Kann bridge, Muthur Pethikuttai which comes under the Sirumugai forest range in Coimbatore found the elephants dead near the Bhavani Sagar reservoir.
Coimbatore: A mother elephant and its newborn calf were found dead in the Sirumugai forest range in Coimbatore on Monday. Wild elephant deaths continue to be reported from the Coimbatore forest regions owing to ill health and other unnatural causes. It is reported that in the last 100 days, 14 elephants have died, saddening wildlife enthusiasts in the region.
Forest Department officials were patrolling near the Irattai Kann bridge at Muthur Pethikuttai which comes under the Sirumugai forest range in Coimbatore, on Monday evening. A young female elephant was found dead along with its newborn calf. Forest veterinarians speculate that the mother elephant probably suffered a miscarriage near the Bhavanisagar Dam reservoir, about 30 meters from the forest boundary. On finding the bodies of the dead elephants, the Forest Department staff immediately informed higher officials and the District Veterinary Officer.
Veterinarians will conduct an autopsy of the dead female elephant and its calf on Tuesday to ascertain the actual cause of the deaths.