The Forest Department is on the lookout for a person suspected to have shot a sub-adult elephant aged around 7 to 8 in a village in the Virajpet forest division of Kodagu district.

The male elephant’s carcass was found near Pallangala village on Thursday and officials say they have zeroed in on the suspect, who is absconding.

Though there is speculation that this could be the same elephant that was rescued from sludge at Kedamallur a few days earlier by the Forest Department, the authorities could not confirm it. The accused had modified the cartridge that was used to shoot the animal from close quarters.

The elephant’s lung was punctured and it had dragged itself for nearly 50 metres before collapsing. The department has registered a case and the post-mortem was conducted. The bullet lodged in the lung was also recovered.