Mundgod: An Eight-year-old elephant was found dead after drowning into a lake near Mukanakatte of Gunjavati forest range in Mundgod taluk of Uttara Kannada district.

The forest officials and the veterinary doctor, who visited the spot, suspect that the elephant might have drowned and died about 5-6 days back.

Mundgod RFO Suresh Kullolli said they got information about the death of a sub-adult elephant in Mukankaatte lake and visited the spot on Friday morning.

They found is carcass of a male elephant in a decomposed state. It might have drowned in he lake 5-6 days ago when it came to drink water. They buried the elephant after a postmortem.

According to sources, an elephant herd was roaming in Gunjavati forest area for last few days. The foresters had spotted a tusker, two female and a baby elephant on September 27. Some of these elephants had destroyed paddy crops at Ugginakeri and Mynalli village in the taluk.