Cattle vaccination on as jumbo dies of Anthrax

On Friday, a tusker aged about 20 to 25 years was found dead near Kombuthooki Amman Temple in the Karadimadai section. Initially it was suspected that the animal could have died in in-fighting as it is the mating season. 

However, autopsy revealed that the animal had contracted anthrax and that had claimed its life. As the bacterium is airborne and posed a threat to cattle and villagers, a big pit was dug and the carcass was buried. “As a precautionary measure we also asked the farmers to avoid using the area and sensitised them not to graze their cattle there for a few weeks,” a forest officer said. “There are half a dozen other villages nearby and we will vaccinate them in the next few days,” he added. 

District Forest Officer S Ramasubramaniam claimed that this is the first jumbo death due to anthrax this year. About the death of a jumbo at Sirumugai last month claimed to be due to anthrax, the DFO said that it had died of intestinal problem. 

Meanwhile, in the Bargur Range in Erode, a six-yearold elephant calf was found dead late on Saturday. It is estimated that the animal died a couple of days ago as the carcass was bloated. Autopsy revealed that it had died of intestinal damage. The officials removed the tusks and cremated the carcass.