Ailing wild elephant dies in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu

Female wild elephant aged 45-50 dies in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve; calf reunited with herd, monitored by drones.

A female wild elephant, aged between 45 and 50 years, that was treated by the Forest Department, died in a forest area at the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR), here on Thursday (April 11, 2024) night.

During a patrol on Thursday morning, staff found the elephant lying unconscious at Pudukuiyanur village at Vadavalli in Sathyamangalam Forest Range and alerted senior officials. A calf, aged between two and three years, was found near the elephant.

A team led by S. Sadasivam, wildlife veterinarian of the STR, began treatment. However, the elephant did not respond to the treatment and died. The calf was united with a herd and a special team continued to monitor the movement of the herd using drones.

On Friday, a postmortem was conducted as per the Tamil Nadu Elephant Death Audit Report (EDAF) to determine the exact cause of death and samples of vital organs were taken for laboratory tests.

Kulal Yogesh Vilas, Deputy Director, STR and District Forest Officer, Sathyamangalam Division, said the calf was moving freely with another foster elephant and is active and healthy. Elephant trackers from Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and drones are actively monitoring the calf movement, he added.

K. Rajkumar, Conservator of Forests and Field Director, STR, told The Hindu, that elephant mortality between March and June every year is high due to various factors, particularly previous complications that aggravate during summer. He said since the calf is about two-years-old, it can feed on its own and is moving freely with the herd.

Earlier on March 5, an ailing 40-year-old female elephant, in Sathyamangalam, died without responding to treatment while its, two-month-old female baby elephant, was unsuccessfully reunited with a herd. Later, the baby elephant was shifted to Mudumalai Tiger Reserve. Likewise, a female elephant, aged between 35 and 40 years, in Kadambur Hills, died on April 8, without responding to treatment.