Female elephant trapped in slush at Gunderi­pallam reservoir dies

Forest Department officials used an excavator to rescue the female elephant that got stuck in mud at Gunderi­pallam reservoir | Photo Credit: PTI

A female wild elephant, aged about 35 to 40 years, died despite treatment in the early hours of Monday after getting trapped in slush at Gunderi­pallam reservoir in the T.N. Palayam Forest Range in Erode district on the night of October 10.

The elephant had come to the reservoir to drink water when it became trapped in the slush and was unable to move. The water level in the reservoir has receded owing to a lack of adequate rainfall in the catchment areas over the past few months, leaving several stretches dry and the periphery slushy.