Bahraich, April 1 -- A decomposed carcass of a female elephant was found on Tuesday morning during a routine patrol deep in the forests of the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS) in Bahraich. The discovery was made by a forest department team led by Ashish Gaur, forest range officer, during regular patrolling in the protected forest area. Upon receiving information, senior officials, including H Rajamohan, field director (FD) of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (DTR) and Apoorv Dixit, divisional forest officer (DFO) KWS immediately rushed to the spot. In the presence of the senior officers, a team of veterinarians conducted the post-mortem examination on the carcass. Samples of the viscera have been preserved and sent to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Izzatnagar, in Bareilly, for a detailed laboratory analysis to determine the exact cause of death. Talking to Hindustan Times Rajamohan said that the carcass was estimated to be two to three days old and was in an advanced state of decomposition. External tissues and internal organs had been partially consumed by leopards and tigers and scavengers. The deceased elephant was a female, aged approximately 22 to 25 years, and possessed small tusks, which have been extracted and secured by the department. Rajamohan stated that poaching does not appear to be the cause, as the animal was not a tusker with prominent tusks, and there were no signs of internal fighting among elephants. He noted that the death is most likely due to natural causes or disease. He also ruled out poisoning. "Had there been poisoning involved, it would probably not have been limited to a single animal," he added. However, samples have been sent to ascertain the cause of death. Officials also highlighted that elephant activity in the Katarniaghat region has increased significantly over the past two and a half months. The forest department has now intensified patrolling and stepped up surveillance across the entire area. This is not the first such incident in the region. On February 13, 2025, the carcass of a 40-45-year-old male elephant was recovered in the Katarniaghat range....