Wound and gastric myiasis due to Chrysomyia bezziana and Cobbaldia elephantis and its pathological lesions in wild elephants in the Nilgiris hills of Tamil Nadu.

Thirty-five years old female and 12 years old male wild elephant were found dead at Seviyodu and Cherangode of Cherambadi range at Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu state. On post mortem examination, maggots were recovered from palate of oral cavity and gastric mucosa of the stomach and identified as Chrysomyia bezziana and Cobbaldia elephantis, respectively. Histopathology of oral tissue specimen revealed myonecrosis of soft palate due to myiasis and cross section of encysted larvae surrounded by fibrous capsule and inflammatory cells. This study reports the mixed infection of wound and gastric myiasis due to C. bezziana and C. elephantis and its histopathological lesions in wild elephants.