The Tamil Nadu government has set up a committee to verify facts of elephant deaths in the state, especially young elephants in the past year. Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests I Anwardeen has been appointed as the Convener and three members are appointed as part of the committee.

In the order passed by the Chief Wildlife Warden, the committee is asked to go to the field, visit the sites where the incidents have occured, and find out and verify the factors responsible for the deaths of the elephants. They are also asked to convene a local meeting with the public and field team, to evolve methodologies for “intensive monitoring to avoid future unnatural incidences”. The committee will also be submitting an action plan to facilitate better monitoring to reduce such incidences.

Meanwhile, a decomposed carcass of a female elephant was found in a forest area in the Sirumugai Range on Friday, April 1. This is the second incident in the last four days and seventh this year in the Coimbatore Forest division. Forest department officials along with anti-poaching squad members, who were on night patrol, rushed to Mulayoor village on Thursday based on the information about foul smell emanating from there. They found the carcass of the elephant at the spot in the village, department sources said on Friday.

Senior forest officials and veterinarians reached the spot and carried out an autopsy and sent the viscera for examination to ascertain the cause of the death, the forest officials said. It may be noted that a female elephant was found floating dead in the catchment area of Bhavani Sagar dam on March 29.

According to sources, seven elephants, including the two in Sirumugai range, were killed due to various reasons like electrocution, biting country-made bombs, and fighting with other elephants, since January. The committee formed to find out the cause of death of several elephants in Tamil Nadu in the last one year, is likely to visit Coimbatore on April 4

(With PTI inputs)