Rogue elephant dies in Indian captivity

GUWAHATI, India: A rogue elephant named after the late al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has died in captivity after he was captured following a massive hunt in northeastern India, officials said on Sunday.

The male animal -- nicknamed "Laden" -- was tracked for days by forestry officers and tranquillised on Monday after a deadly October rampage killed five villagers in Goalpara, in the northeastern state of Assam.

It was moved to Assam’s Orang National Park where officials planned to teach it to patrol wildlife parks and sanctuaries in the state, but said it died early Sunday. "The animal was behaving as normal. It was, however, kept with its legs tied so that it couldn’t escape," a park ranger, who asked to remain anonymous, told AFP.

The keeper reported the animal dead at roughly 5:00am (10:30 GMT) Sunday, he said. The cause of death was unclear, but a senior official said the state government had sent a team of veterinarians to carry out an autopsy.