COIMBATORE: Three Indian gaurs were found dead under suspicious circumstances in Doddabetta forest area in the Nilgiris on Tuesday.

Acting on information from villagers, a team of forest department staff rushed to the spot and held an examination.

“A male and two female gaurs were found dead in the same locality. There were no external injuries suggesting that they were not killed in fight with other wild animals or hunted down by human beings,” said S Gowtham, District Forest Officer (DFO), the Nilgiris division.

Following a post mortem, the samples lifted from the animals were sent for laboratory analysis in Coimbatore and Chennai. Also, water samples from nearby, where the animals were found dead were collected for testing. Four teams have been formed by the forest department to investigate the mysterious death of animals.