An elephant belonging to Balle camp in the D.B. Kuppe range of Nagarahole Tiger Reserve was found dead in the forests on Monday.
The elephant, named Kumaraswamy, was aged around 46 and was in the camp since 2001.
Elephants are left to graze in the forests, and Kumaraswamy had been found missing for the last few days.
Forest guards discovered the carcass when an operation was launched to track Kumaraswamy. Senior officials of Nagarahole Tiger Reserve reached the spot on receipt of information of Kumaraswamy’s death and wildlife veterinarians conducted a post-mortem.
The authorities said the post-mortem report indicated that the elephant was suffering from intestinal colic. After ascertaining the cause of death and completion of procedures, the carcass was left in the wild for carnivores to feed on as per the Forest Department norms.
