Pregnant elephant found dead in Tamil Nadu wildlife sanctuary

MADURAI: A 26-year-old pregnant elephant was found dead in the Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary in Srivilliputhur on Monday.

The female elephant was apparently attacked by a male elephant, according to wildlife officials at the sanctuary. There were 16 tusk wounds on the body female elephant.

“A male elephant might have attacked the female elephant as it refused to mate,” wildlife warden T K Ashok Kumar said.

A three-member veterinary team carried out an autopsy on the carcass. “We found a one-year-old male foetus inside the carcass during autopsy,” a wildlife official said.

There are around 60 to 70 wild elephants in the sanctuary, and the death of the pregnant elephant saddened the wildlife authorities. “It is a sad incident. We have lost two elephants,” Ashok Kumar added.