Kochi: A tiger and an elephant were found dead in the Idamalayar forest in Kerala. Preliminary investigation suggests that both the animals had succumbed to injuries due to a fight. A forest patrolling team found the carcasses in a grassland near Kulathupetti deep inside the Idamalayar forest range under the Malayattoor division.
The tiger was aged 7 and the elephant 15, said the forest officials. Evidence at the spot suggested a long fight between the two animals.
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Although, tiger and elephant clashes are rare, this is not the first incident reported in Kerala. In 2017, there were reports of tigers killing elephants in Wayanad.
‘Tiger is the only predator that attacks the elephant. A similar incident was recorded in a camera trap in the Silent Valley Forest in 2009-10. Tigers normally don’t attack adult elephants, but they do follow herds with juvenile elephants’, said wildlife expert Dr P S Easa.
Malayattoor DFO Ravikumar Meena has constituted a team of forest officers, representatives of wildlife conservation activists, veterinary doctors and a scientist to conduct the postmortem of the tiger and the elephant on Thursday.
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