Bahraich: A female elephant was found dead under suspicious circumstances in the core zone of Katarniaghat Wildlife Division.Shockingly, the body reportedly rotted for about a week in the dense forest area before being discovered, raising questions over the forest monitoring and patrolling systems.The incident came to light late on Tuesday night when a strong foul smell spread in the surrounding areas, alerting the local people. Forest officials conducted post-mortem and sent viscera samples to IVRI, Bareilly for detailed examination to ascertain the exact cause of death.According to officials, the body was found about 2 km inside the forest near a drain in Bichhiya Beat area.The discovery was made by a patrol team during a night trip.Following the information shared by Forest Range Officer Ashish Gaur, senior officials including Chief Conservator of Forests H Raja Mohan, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Apoorva Dixit and other members of the team reached the spot.A three-member veterinary team led by Dr. Talha and Dr. Deepak conducted the post-mortem. After preserving the viscera, the body was buried at the site using a JCB machine in the presence of forest officials. Officials estimate that the age of the elephant will be around 20 to 25 years.Officials said the exact cause of death could not be determined during the postmortem and would be known only after the viscera report.DFO Apoorva Dixit said that prima facie the death appears to be natural, but other possibilities cannot be ruled out until the report comes.Nearby villagers told that the body was lying there for a long time. They also noted that elephant herds have recently become active in the region, and aggressive behavior among elephants increases the likelihood of conflict between herds that could lead to death.In recent years, several elephant deaths have been reported in the region.