20-year-old Makna elephant found dead; forest dept says starvation likely cause

Veterinary doctor Dr N Chittiappa from the Dubare elephant camp conducted the autopsy of the elephant, which revealed no external injuries or bullet wounds

A 20-year-old Makna wild elephant was found dead in Hundi village, Kodagu district, on Monday morning likely due to starvation due to a vision defect that left it struggling to find food, forest officials said.

Carcass of the wild elephant that died at a coffee estate in Kodagu, Karnataka. (PTI)

Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) in Virajpet B Jagannath said: “The initial investigation suggests that the elephant likely died of starvation probably because its blindness prevented it from locating food. The death seems to have occurred between Sunday noon and night. As Sunday was a holiday, no one was present at the coffee estate of Vinod Achaiah who might have seen the carcass.” He further said that the elephant had likely wandered out of the nearby forest in search of sustenance.

Veterinary doctor Dr N Chittiappa from the Dubare elephant camp conducted the autopsy of the elephant, which revealed no external injuries or bullet wounds. Jagannath said: “Upon post-mortem examination, we found very little food in its stomach. The doctor concurs with our assessment that starvation is the probable cause of death.”

The elephant was cremated at the Maldare reserve forest on Monday after notifying the chief wildlife warden about the matter. “We are awaiting the final autopsy report to confirm the exact cause of death,” Jagannath added.

One of the villagers in the area, Palangappa said that the elephant was previously seen wandering near human settlements for the past three months. “We never realised the elephant was blind as it only appeared occasionally. Wild elephant sightings are less frequent during the rainy season because they have sufficient fodder in the forests. We have repeatedly asked the state government and authorities for a permanent solution to the wild elephant menace, but no serious action has been taken,” he said.

The area, situated approximately 35 kilometers from Nagarhole National Park, is no stranger to wildlife encounters. Villagers regularly deal with the threats posed by wild elephants and even tigers, which add to the growing concerns over human-wildlife conflicts in the region.