Forest Department officials on Friday identified over 15 tusk-inflicted wounds on the carcass of the male elephant that was found dead in Mettupalayam forest range, suggesting that it died due to an attack by another tusker.
Estimated to be around 16 years old, the elephant was found dead within the Mettupalayam forest range limits on Thursday evening. During the autopsy conducted on Friday, veterinarians found that the tusk-inflicted wounds were sustained at various points of time. No pellet or other metal objects were found in the carcass, the officials said.
The elephant was first spotted with a swollen left foreleg in Nellithurai reserve forest area of Mettupalayam forest range on March 25. The autopsy revealed ossification and fibrosis of the foreleg’s bone joint, which caused immobility of the joint and erosion of the foot pad.
Anti-poaching watchers from Mettupalayam range suspect that a male elephant nicknamed ‘Oosi Komban’ might have injured the deceased elephant. Oosi Komban is also suspected to have caused the death of a 50-year-old female elephant in May and an 11-year-old male elephant in July within the forest range limits, according to the officials.
Officials said the Coimbatore Forest Division was currently holding more breeding males according to a landscape study and that intra-species aggression and dominance were signs of healthy male elephant populations.
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