A male elephant was found dead on the Nilgiri North Eastern slopes near Thengumarahada in the buffer zone of Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) on Wednesday.
According to officials, the poaching watchers found the decomposed carcass of the elephant during a routine patrolling in the area.
Top officials of the Forest Department visited the area and carried out the investigation. Officials said preliminary investigation indicated that the animal died of natural causes. Veterinarians did the postmortem on Thursday.