A 20-year-old female elephant was found dead in Sirumugai forest range in the district.

The carcass was found early today by the villagers, who informed police and forest departments.

Preliminary tests revealed that the death was due to dehydration and starvation, since almost all the water bodies dried up in the range and also nearby Mettupalayam forest division, department sources said.

Postmortem will be carried out in the evening to know the reason for the death, they said.