40-year-old female elephant dies due to impaction

A 40-year-old female elephant was found dead, reportedly due to "impaction" and blockage of digestive tract in a coffee estate at Valparai in the district, officials said today.
On information last night, forest department officials and Deputy Director of Forest Veterinary Service N S Manoharan rushed to the spot at Varattuparai this morning, department officials said.
The elephant could have died a week ago, as it could not defecate due to blockage in the digestive track, and had not consumed a couple of days ago before the death, they said.
The surroundings, where the carcass was found, indicated that the elephant had struggled and rolled around before it died, the officials said.

The carcass was buried after post-mortem near the estate, some five km from Valparai forests, in the presence of District Forest Officer, Anamalai Tiger Reserve, V Subbaiah, Forest Range Officer P Sakthivel and some members of Nature Conservation Foundation, an NGO.