Krishnagiri: A 13-year-old male elephant was gored to death, reportedly in a fight with another elephant for leadership of a three-elephant herd.
“The carcass was found this (Wednesday) morning by forest guards near Sathanakal in Uddedurgam forest range,” district forest officer (DFO) Deepak S. Bilgi said.
“The elephant was found dead with its abdomen gored open and the intestines out. The animal was gored to death by another male elephant in the herd,” added Deepak.
According to the DFO, three elephants, including a female, stayed at the place. Two elephants could have fought to take over the lone female, leading to the death of one of the males in the family.
When asked about the missing tusk, the DFO said, “Our staff found two tusk bones when the carcass of the dead animal was first spotted by him. One of it was stolen after our staff came out of the forest to contact his range officer.”
Around 30 forest staff are conducting a combing operation in the forest region where the dead elephant was spotted. This follows information that the missing tusk still lies hidden inside the forest by the robber.
