A female wild elephant that was found in ailing condition in a reserve forest area near Coimbatore on Thursday died without responding to treatment on Friday.
Frontline staff of the Forest Department found the cow elephant aged 40 to 42 lying on the ground, while patrolling Boluvampatti block-I reserve forest of Karadimadai forest beat in Madukkarai range around 4 p.m. on Thursday. The animal was unable to move on its own.
Forest Veterinary Officer A. Sukumar rushed to the spot and started efforts to revive the elephant. Essential medicines and glucose were administered to the animal. The treatment could not be continued beyond dusk due to the presence of other elephants in the forests.
An official said that the treatment continued early on Friday and 15 bottles of glucose were administered to the elephant. However, the animal’s condition deteriorated and it died around 12 noon. The official added that the elephant did not feed on fruits given by the staff. It did not have external injuries.
Dr. Sukumar performed the post-mortem examination on the carcass in the presence of Department staff and members from non-governmental organisations.
The veterinarian opined that the death could be due to chronic illness and infection of the uterus leading to severe malnutrition, loss of muscle mass and fat and multi-organ failure. The carcass was left in the wild for scavengers.
Published – May 24, 2025 12:41 am IST
