Coimbatore: The postmortem examination on the carcass of a female wild elephant that died at Marudhamalai foothills in Coimbatore on Tuesday revealed that the animal was pregnant and its stomach contained plastic bags and aluminium foil.
Veterinarians said the elephant might have consumed the waste along with food waste from a nearby garbage dumping site, which may have caused an infection.
On May 17, a mother elephant was standing motionless on the western side of Bharathiar University, at the foot of Marudhamalai here. A calf was also with her for a long time. On receiving information about this, the forest department personnel came to the scene and monitored the elephants. Then, the mother elephant suddenly fell ill and fainted, leaving her calf helpless.
Following this, forest veterinarians and forest department personnel set up an artificial water tank on Tuesday, lowered the elephant into it with the help of a crane and a Kumki elephant and administered ‘hydrotherapy’ treatment. However, within a few hours of the hydrotherapy treatment, the elephant showed no signs of recovery and died.
Forest veterinarians conducted a postmortem examination of the deceased elephant today. It was found that the elephant had been carrying a foetus of a male calf of 12 to 15 months old.
“Usually, elephants do not leave the dense forest area. It is normal for them to come in search of food and water. As soon as they get food or water, they go back into the forest area,” District Forest Veterinary Officer Sukumar told the media. “However, when their physical condition is affected, elephants come out of the forest area in a very poor condition. That is how this female elephant left the forest and came to the western part of Bharathiar University,” he said.
The deceased female elephant was 17 years old. Based on the autopsy, the elephant's heart was affected and failed, after which the liver and kidneys were also affected.
“Its stomach was empty, and there was faeces in the small intestine that did not pass properly. The faeces contained undigested plastic waste and aluminium foil,” Sukumar said.
“The female elephant may have contracted a bacterial infection due to eating chemicals in plastic waste or spoiled food thrown away in a plastic bag, and its organs, including the heart, were affected. The important internal organs of the elephant were collected, and we are going to send them to the laboratory for examination and to determine the actual cause of death,” he said.
Speaking to reporters after the incident, District Forest Officer Jayaraj said, “A lot of garbage has been dumped in Somiyampalayam panchayat, which is adjacent to the forest area. Animals coming from the forest have to eat this garbage. Due to this, the elephant has eaten a lot of plastic.”
“Steps have been taken to shift all the garbage here to Vellalur. It has also been decided to install wire nets so that no one can enter the place where the garbage is currently being dumped,” he said.
