Male elephant calf found dead in Ooty, infection suspected

“The calf was weak and could have died due to some infection,” officials said. Wildlife veterinarian K Vijayaraghavan, who performed the autopsy, said that the calf could have died on Monday. He said that it was found dead about 80 metres away from the Ooty to Masinagudi Road, ruling out the possibilities of the animal knocked down by a speeding vehicle on the road. 

Vijayaraghavan said that the calf had symptoms of stomach infection and had died of diarrhoea and dehydration. Mud and dust found over the calf revealed that its mother could have tried to help the calf get on its foot. The post-mortem was performed in the presence of Assistant Conservator of Forests for Nilgiris North Division Vijayan, range officer S Selvaraj and NGO representatives.

Samples of internal organs and the intestine were collected and sent to the laboratory at Chennai and Coimbatore to ascertain if the calf was infected and if yes the nature of infection. While the carcass of an animal that died naturally is left open for carnivores, the carcass of the calf was burnt as it posed a threat to spread infection to other animals. 

The male calf is the third victim to intestine infection in the last one month. A 55-year-old tusker was found dead near Burgur in Erode district on Monday due to stomach infection. Similarly, an eight-yearold female elephant died of intestinal worms on the Moyar river bank on October 13. 

On October 15, an 18-year-old female elephant got stuck in the mud and died near Moyar river.