COIMBATORE: Traffic was disrupted on the Mudumalai–Masinagudi Road for three hours after a wild tusker was found dead blocking the way on Tuesday.

According to the forest department, the elephant, aged around 50 years, was spotted lying dead on the road stretch at 6 am. On receiving information, the forest department deployed a poclain to remove the carcass of the elephant to the roadside. After around three hours, the vehicle traffic resumed around 9 am.

Besides the public, the school and college students bound to Gudalur from Masinagudi faced difficulty because of the roadblock. Vehicles to Masinagudi from Karnataka were diverted through Gudalur.

Meanwhile, forest veterinarian Rajesh Kumar performed a post-mortem on the carcass and collected visceral samples to be sent for lab testing to ascertain the exact reason for its death.