Three elephants found dead in Erode dist

Erode: Three elephants, including a tusker, a mother and its calf, were found dead in two different places at the Andhiyur forest division in Erode in the past two days.
Earlier on Saturday, a 40-year-old female elephant and a four-year-old calf were found dead at the South Bargur reserve forest. They may have died on Friday, said Erode district forest officer N Venkatesh Prabhu, adding that the preliminary autopsy remarks confirmed they had died of sudden shock. “The shock might have been due to sun stroke or the elephants may have consumed contaminated water leading to a sudden cardiac arrest in the female elephant, while the calf might have died of starvation,” he explained.
The exact reason behind the calf's death has not been ascertained yet as the carcass was eaten by carnivores. Veterinarians collected a few vital organs for the chemical test. The carcasses were later buried deep in the forest.
On Sunday morning, forest personnel at the Chennampatti forest range found a 35-year-old tusker dead at the Bargur reserve forest. “Forest range officer Raja and three forest veterinarians went to the spot and performed an autopsy on the carcass,” the DFO said. Speaking to TOI, he said the tusker had died of its injuries on its stomach after being attacked by another tusker.
“We're looking for another tusker which may have also sustained injuries in the fight,” he added.
The Andhiyur forest division has registered cases on the elephant deaths and further inquiry is on.