The female wild elephant in Sirumugai forest range before the treatment.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
A female wild elephant that was treated by a team of veterinarians for an injury on its left forelimb in Sirumugai forest range of the Coimbatore Forest Division on September 6 was found dead on Tuesday, September 15.
Though frontline staff of the Forest Department have been monitoring the elephant after the treatment, the elephant could not be located from Sunday, September 13. Based on the instructions from the District Forest Officer, the staff launched a search operation for the elephant on Monday. They found the elephant dead at Thamaraipaali on Tuesday.
According to the Department, arrangements have been made for a post-mortem examination on the carcass on Wednesday.
The elephant was first observed with a wound around its left forelimb, below the wrist, at Uliyur in the Nilgiri eastern slope reserve forest of Sirumugai range on September 2. A team of veterinarians tranquillised the elephant and removed an iron wire, suspected to be a snare, that had cut deep into the flesh.
Frontline staff were providing medicines prescribed by the veterinarians by stuffing them inside fruits, until it went out of their radar on September 13.
Published – September 15, 2026 10:14 pm IST
