UDHAGAMANDALAM: With a two-year-old tusker found dead on Saturday, the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) in the Nilgiris has seen seven elephants deaths since January this year. However, MTR officials say the mortality rate is not alarming as the reserve has over 700 elephants.Forest watchers on routine patrolling had found the carcass of the tusker at Kumbarakolly reserve forest in Theppakadu range on Saturday. According to MTR field director Srinivas R Reddy , preliminary report of the post-mortem revealed that there were worms inside the stomach of the animal. "We could not guess the cause of the death. Samples of the carcass were collected for lab test. Once the report is received, we would come to know the exact cause of death," he told TOI.Asked whether it is not a cause of worry to learn that about seven elephants had died since January, Reddy said, "It is not an issue at all. The acceptable mortality rate is around 5-10% of the elephant population. We hadn't touched even 5% ever. MTR houses around 700 Asian elephants. The reserve can safely lose 70 elephants a year. But at the same time, we should also see to it that 70-75 new elephants are added to the population every year".According to Reddy, more cases of animals deaths during the summer season is natural, owing to depleted fodder and water sources.

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