The carcass of an adult male wild elephant was found in a decomposed state inside the reserve forest of Koundinya wildlife sanctuary belt near K.C. Penta village of Gangavaram mandal on Wednesday.

Forest Range Officer (Palamaner) Srinivasulu said that the elephant could have lost grip while scaling a slope of a hillock and fallen into a ditch below. “Though the animal had fallen from a height of six feet, its head hit a boulder in the ditch. The pachyderm seemed to have died three days ago due to haemorrhage in the brain. Our field staff noticed foul smell emanating from the area and detected the carcass,” he said.

Senior forest officials from Chittoor and Anantapur visited the spot. Veterinary doctors reached the spot and conducted autopsy and the animal was cremated inside the forest, after collecting the tusks and visceral parts.