Wayanad: The 35-year-old wild tusker which was injured in an accident at the Kozhikode- Kollegal National Highway 766 on December 4, last year, was found dead in the Kumizhy forest village, near Muthanga, here, on Sunday evening.
The animal was hit by a Sabarimala-bound bus carrying pilgrims from Karnataka. The accident occurred when the animal was trying to cross the highway near Kalloor, Muthanga, inside the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS).
With serious injuries, since the accident, the animal was struggling for movement and also to have fodder. As the animal turned hostile after the accident, the veterinarians failed to assess the seriousness of the injury to the animal, initially. It was after receiving orders from the top, a special mission was launched to treat the animal after giving tranquilizer shots.
Assisted by three Kumki elephants (trained captive elephants) including Vikram and Bharath, the team had a tough time as the animal was moving away from the vicinity of the team roaming in the vast forest zones of the WWS. After tranquilising, the animal was administered first aid by the wildlife veterinary experts and a team was also posted to observe the movement of the animal.
Though all the officials, including the Wayanad Wildlife Warden Dinesh Kumar, had expressed hope that the animal would survive, the animal's condition worsened during the last few days, according to reports. The carcass of the animal was disposed of (buried in the jungle) after conducting a postmortem on Monday, sources said.
