The carcass of a five-year-old crocodile was found floating in the lake at Vakkaramari village near Chidambaram yesterday.

Residents who noticed the highly decomposed carcass of the five foot-long reptile floating in the Vakkaramari lake informed the municipal authorities about it. On receiving the information, personnel from the forest department, led by forest guard M Rajeshkumar, rushed there, retrieved the carcass and brought it to the shore. The reptile was buried after a post-mortem was conducted by Dr S Punithavalli, veterinarian, of Animal Husbandry Department, in the presence of municipal engineer Jagadeesan.

Sources said that the forest department released more than 100 reptiles into the Vakkaramari lake over the years to safeguard the water sources that supplies drinking water to Chidambaram town from getting polluted.

Residents say that the reptile died, unable to bear the sweltering heat, as the water level was fast depleting in the lake. However, Dr Punithavalli ruled this out, saying that other crocodiles still survive in the waters.

She said that wounds found on the reptile’s mouth and abdomen indicate that the crocodile could have been attacked by another reptile, though it is difficult to pinpoint the cause of death as the carcass was highly decomposed making it difficult to conduct a thorough post-mortem.

The stench was unbearable, indicating that crocodile could have died some three days ago. Also, the reptile’s sex could not be determined as its genitals were damaged, the vet said.