Female elephant shot dead in Krishnagiri district; probe on

Krishnagiri: A female elephant aged around 12 was found dead with bullet injuries in Jawalagiri forest in Krishnagiri district on early Tuesday morning.

Forest officials, who reached the spot after being informed by locals, initially thought the elephant died after falling into an elephant proof trench (EPT) dug up on the forest fringe. Only during the autopsy, the officials realized foul play when veterinarians found bullets in the carcass.

“A total of 30 elephant had moved from Bannarghatta forests in Karnataka to Jawalagiri forest range and we suspected that this elephant could be part of the herd and died after falling into the trench,” M Nagarajan, ranger of Jawalagiri forest range, said.

However, veterinary doctor Prakash and his team found three bullets inside the carcass during the autopsy.

“Someone had used a country-made gun to the kill the elephant. We are looking into different angles. We are inquiring farmers whether anyone fired at the elephant when it was eating crops or poachers could have killed it thinking it as a male elephant,” the ranger said.

The forest department registered a case. The carcass was later buried in the forest.