Bahraich: A female elephant was found dead under suspicious circumstances in the core zone of Katarniaghat Wildlife Division.Shockingly, the carcass reportedly lay decomposing for nearly a week in a dense forest area before being discovered, raising questions over forest monitoring and patrolling systems.The incident came to light late Tuesday night after a strong foul smell spread in nearby areas, alerting locals. The forest officials conducted a post-mortem and sent viscera samples to IVRI, Bareilly, for detailed examination to ascertain the exact cause of death.According to officials, the carcass was found about 2 km inside the forest near a stream in the Bichhiya beat area.The discovery was made by a patrolling team during night rounds.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 team members rushed to the spot.A three-member veterinary team, led by Dr Talha and Dr Deepak, conducted the post-mortem. After preserving the viscera, the carcass was buried at the site using a JCB machine in the presence of forest officials. Authorities estimated the age of the elephant to be around 20 to 25 years.Officials said that the exact cause of death could not be determined during the post-mortem and would be known only after the viscera report.DFO Apoorva Dixit said the death appears to be natural at first glance, but other possibilities cannot be ruled out until the report is received.Villagers from nearby areas indicated that the carcass had been lying there for a long time. They also pointed out that elephant herds have been active in the region recently, and aggressive behaviour among tuskers raises the possibility of intra-herd conflict leading to the death.In recent years, several elephant deaths have been reported in the region.