COIMBATORE: A female elephant died of anthrax in the Gopanari Reserve Forest under the Periyanaickenpalayam range in Coimbatore district. According to officials, a forest patrol team spotted the carcass at around 4pm on Tuesday. Preliminary observations suggested that the animal had died a day before.Upon inspecting photographs of the carcass, forest officials grew suspicious of a potential anthrax infection. To verify this, a blood smear was collected on Wednesday by forest veterinarians and sent to the district animal husbandry department, which subsequently confirmed that the elephant had died of an anthrax infection.Following orders from the field director and chief conservator of forests (Anamalai Tiger Reserve) along with the district forest officer (in-charge), a 50-metre perimeter around the carcass was isolated, and immediate measures were taken to keep scavengers and other animals away.Upon receiving laboratory confirmation that the elephant had tested positive for the anthrax infection, disposal procedures were initiated on Thursday. Adhering strictly to guidelines laid down by the ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEF) and the Tamil Nadu environment, climate change and forests department, the carcass was incinerated in the same place where it was found dead.
