The forest officials found the carcass of a lone elephant calf in the Seshachalam forest abutting Bhimavaram village in Chandragiri mandal of Tirupati district on February 19. The animal was believed to have died of starvation and sickness.
The carcass was found by a team combing the forest in an attempt to chase away the herd of wild elephants roaming in the Yellampalli area for the last twenty days. With stink emanating from the vicinity, the forest team turned suspicious and ventured into the nearby forest and stumbled upon the badly decomposed body.
Divisional Forest Officers Satish Reddy and Siva Kumar (flying squad) rushed to the spot and ascertained that the calf indeed belonged to the herd moving in the vicinity. Having strayed away from its mother, the little animal would have searched in vain for food and drinking water in the vicinity before giving up hope, the officials explained.
A medical team was rushed to the spot, where autopsy and ‘Panchanama’ were conducted on the spot. After cremating the body, the officials sent the bone, organs and skin to the laboratory at Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University (SVVU) for further study.
