A tusker was found dead in an open well at Thorapalli near Gudalur on Sunday morning (June 21, 2026).

Forest Department officials said the incident occurred inside the property of Mathai Ulak Kannan, who ran a shelter for the underprivileged in the area. The shelter is attached to a coffee plantation owned by him, the officials said. On Sunday morning, the residents noticed a dead elephant in the area and notified the Forest Department.

Officials said that they reached the area and conducted a preliminary investigation, which pointed to the animal dying after falling into the open well, around 3-4 feet in diameter. “However, we were unable to conduct a postmortem on Sunday,” said an official.

A postmortem on the animal’s remains has been planned for Monday morning. “We will ascertain the cause of death and then consider action against the owner of the property for negligence that led to the elephant’s death,” the official said.

Thorapalli is a crucial corridor that connects Gudalur with Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and is used by elephants to navigate the Nilgiri Biopshere Reserve (NBR). Despite multiple incidents over the last few years that have led to the deaths of elephants, tigers and leopards, enforcing rules that mandate covering open wells remains unenforced, allege local conservationists, who pointed to multiple deaths of elephants in the region over the last few years due to badly planned, negligently maintained human infrastructure.

“While strict action against landowners who do not cover open wells is a necessity, the Forest Department must also conduct periodic checks across these areas to ensure that the wells are being covered by landowners to minimise risk to wildlife,” said a conservationist from The Nilgiris.