SIT attributes eight elephant deaths in Kerala river to ‘natural accidental causes’
Eight elephants, which were found dead in a river flowing through the Malayattoor and Vazhachal forests last year, died of “natural accidental causes,” a special
Eight elephants, which were found dead in a river flowing through the Malayattoor and Vazhachal forests last year, died of “natural accidental causes,” a special investigation team (SIT) report has concluded. The animals might have accidentally slipped into the river following extremely high rainfall and died due to the impacts of the fall, according to the report. The SIT, headed by D.K. Vinod Kumar, Chief Conservator of Forest, High Range Circle, Kottayam, ruled out poaching as the cause of death as it could not find any evidence of forcible extraction of ivory based on socket examination—the examination of tooth sockets of the animals. The team also conclusively ruled out alternative causes of death such as poaching, poisoning, infectious disease, or human–wildlife conflict “in the absence of any forensic, pathological, or toxicological indicators of anthropogenic involvement.” The decomposed carcasses of the elephants were located within a highly concentrated stretch of the Pooyamkutty river, extending downstream towards Peendimedu waterfall, between August 6 and 31 last year.
The elephant deaths had raised alarm bells as poachers had gunned down 16 tuskers in the region a decade ago. The Forest department had booked around 70 persons and recovered around 500kg of ivory following an investigation. The SIT concluded that the deaths were caused by “natural accidental causes linked to extreme hydrological events and hazardous topographical features.” The evidence from post-mortem examinations, meteorological records, historical mortality patterns, and field observations demonstrates that the incident coincided with episodes of extremely heavy rainfall that generated flash-flood conditions in a steep, waterfall-dominated river system, the SIT report states. The high-velocity water flow, combined with rocky substrates and abrupt elevation changes, created conditions conducive to traumatic injuries consistent with accidental falls and collisions, the report adds.
It says that the behavioural ecology of elephants in the region, particularly their routine river-crossing movements to maintain habitat connectivity, exposed them to elevated risk during extreme monsoon events. “Historical records corroborate that similar hydrologically driven accidents have occurred repeatedly in specific river stretches, identifying these locations as persistent high-risk zones,” the report points out. The report notes that “all carcasses were examined using metal detectors to rule out the presence of bullets, metallic foreign bodies, or other indications of firearm-related injuries.” As many as 21 similar elephant mortality incidents were reported from the same river system between 1994 and 2024. A peak rainfall event that occurred on August 3, 2025, corresponded with the discovery of four carcasses.
The BriefWire