Coimbatore: A female elephant which was found in a critical condition in a reserve forest behind the Navamalai electricity board employees’ quarters in the Pollachi forest range earlier in the day, died on Monday night despite more than 10 hours of intensive treatment by forest department personnel and a veterinary team.Forest department officials were alerted about the ailing elephant, which was found in the reserve forest under the Anamalai Tiger Reserve. A team from Pollachi forest range reached the spot around noon. After a two-hour long effort, forest staff drove away the herd and levelled the ground to facilitate treatment. The team then administered intravenous fluids and injections to improve the elephant’s condition and alleviate its pain. Its body temperature and other vital parameters were monitored. However, it died around 10pm on Monday without responding to treatment.A postmortem was subsequently conducted on Tuesday. “The elephant was weak, possibly because of its age, which may have affected its immunity. We noticed internal bleeding, which could explain why it fell ill and remained lying down without responding to treatment,” a forest department official said.Preliminary examination by the veterinary team indicated a stomach ulcer and infections in its internal organs. However, officials said further analysis was required to establish the exact cause of death and determine what led to the infections.The carcass was left in the forest to be consumed by scavengers and other wildlife. A total of 28 forest department personnel, along with veterinarians, were involved in the treatment and postmortem procedures.
