TIRUVANNAMALAI: A female elephant, estimated to be around 12 years of age, was found dead in the Padavedu Koraiyaru forest area under the Santhavasal range in Tiruvannamalai district, on Sunday. Forest Department officials have been struggling to get past the herd of eight elephants that is protecting the dead elephant.Official sources said that the residents of the border villages alerted them after the herd made a lot of noise. When the team reached the spot on Monday, they found one of the elephants dead.While a postmortem could unravel the reason behind the death of the animal, sources claimed that the death could be due to some disease.According to the officials, the herd has been trapped in this part of the forest for over five years now.The pachyderms were not able to return to their original habitat — the Hosur forests — after work on the National Highway began in 2005.The animals have been straying out of the forest area into nearby villages, where they could graze in the agricultural fields, while the Shenbagathoppu reservoir provided ample water for drinking and bathing.Last year, an elephant got electrocuted when it tried to rub its back against an electric pole. Also, a newborn calf was found dead in the same locality a few months ago.
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