Carcass of elephant found in Corbett Tiger Reserve

The carcass of a male elephant was found in the Corbett Tiger Reserve in Nainital district on Sunday, said forest officials.

Rahul, field director Corbett Tiger Reserve, said the body of a male tusker aged around 20 to 25 years was found by the field staff in the Dhikala Zone on Sunday.

“The carcass appears to be four days old. It is not clear at present why the elephant died. We are conducting its post-mortem after which the exact cause of its death will be known,” he said.

This is not the first such incident in the protected area.

Last month, the body of a 10-year-old elephant was found in the Corbett Tiger Reserve. In August last year, the body of a female elephant was found dead in Dhela range of Corbett.

In 2014, the carcass of an elephant was found in Jhirna Zone of Corbett, with forest officials claiming that it likely died after falling from a hill Corbett National Park, located in Nainital district, is one of the oldest national parks in India and it has played a key role in Project Tiger initiation.

This protected Himalayan habitat houses rich biodiversity including around 110 tree species, 50 species of mammals, 580 bird species, 33 species of reptiles, seven species of amphibians and so on.