Coimbatore: A female wild elephant estimated to nine years, died after tumbling from a slippery area in Periyanaickenplayam range in Coimbatore forest division. While activists urged the Forest department to take necessary action to avoid continuous elephant deaths happening in this range, these are believed to be due to mouth infection and worms.
According to a Forest department source, within six months, five elephants have died in the Periyanaickenpalayam range.
During autopsy veterinary doctors identified all the elephants to have succumbed due to severe mouth infection and worms. However, the exact reason for the infection is not yet known.
Meanwhile a nine-year-old female elephant along with a herd of eight jumbos entered Moonukuttai tribal settlement near the Gopanari beat in the Periyanaickenpalayam range in the early hours of Thursday.
After crossing a small trench dug by local people around the settlement area, the elephant tumbled and died as the ground was slippery, added the source.
Activists urged the forest department not to encourage local people to constructing trenches on their own without the supervision of an expert as these can cause elephant deaths.
During autopsy, the veterinary doctor identified severe mouth infection in this female too. Activists now suspect it to be due to pesticides sprayed on the crops cultivated at Periyanaickenpalayam range and elephants may have consumed it.
To pacify farmers and on pressure from politicians, the Forest department has made arrangements for translocation of another wild tusker.
