ERODE: An 18 year old male elephant was found dead with its tusks missing near Thalavadi in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve near here on Friday.

According to forest officials, while conducting their regular patrol duty in Gumdapuram forest area located near Thalavadi under the STR, they found a dead elephant. They informed the District Forest Officer Sathish, who sent a team of forest personnel along with a veterinary doctor.

The doctor examined the carcass and said that it was an 18-year-old male. The officials suspect that the elephant might have been poisoned to death and the tusks removed. The doctor conducted a post-mortem and sent the samples for a medical examination and said that the cause of death can only be ascertained after getting the results. The carcass was left in the same area for scavenging by vultures and other animals.