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Tusker dies of starvation in Sathyamangalam forest
A wild tusker is suspected to have died of starvation near the reserve forest area in Sathyamangalam on Wednesday.
By
migrator
migrator
Coimbatore
Villagers of Kadambur noticed the elephant, aged around 10, lying dead in a revenue land, some 500 metres from the reserve forest boundary and informed the Forest Department staff.
A team of forest staff accompanied by veterinarian K Ashokan conducted a medical examination. The elephant had starved without food for about 15 days resulting in other complications. It developed ulcer in the stomach due to lack of food, said a senior official.
Though it was initially speculated that the elephant died of anthrax, the Forest Department ruled it out. The weak elephant had ventured out of the forest to consume water in the private farm, when it died.
“We do not know the exact reason why the elephant starved. The animal may have been left with inadequate fodder as all greenery got dried up due to poor rainfall. An elephant requires upto 150 kg of fodder a day,” said the official.
Forest Department staff said this is the first incident of a jumbo from the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) dying due to starvation this year. An autopsy was conducted and the animal was buried at the spot where it died. In a similar incident, a 20-year-old elephant died of hunger in the Sirumugai forest range in Coimbatore in April last year.
JUMBO LOSS
The Coimbatore Forest Division recorded several deaths of elephants during 2016-2017. Here’s how some of the animals lost their lives
- 22 elephant deaths in the forest division from September 2016 to August 2017
- 10 of those deaths happened outside the forest boundary
- 12 cases where the cause of death was not established
- 4 pachyderms died due to disease
- 2 lost their lives to injuries
- 2 jumbos electrocuted
- 1 death each due to accidental fall and fight among elephants
- 12 Sirumugai range recorded the highest number of elephant deaths among all ranges
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