Veterinary doctors taking care of the calf for the past two weeks are of the view that it was suffering from some sort of infection.
The baby elephant which was abandoned by its herd. (Screengrab)
A baby elephant abandoned by its herd, including its mother, in Kerala’s Attapadi forest range in the Palakkad district nearly two weeks ago died on the night of Tuesday, 27 June.
A forest officer on Wednesday said the exact cause of death of the one-year-old calf was not known yet as the report of the post-mortem examination completed by afternoon would take time to be available.
However, veterinary doctors who were taking care of the calf for the past two weeks are of the view that it was suffering from some sort of infection, which may have resulted in the tragic outcome, the officer said.
“The calf was under our care. The day before yesterday it was fine. Thereafter, it showed some weakness and we took it for treatment. After that, it appeared to be fine. But on Tuesday afternoon, it again showed signs of weakness. All possible treatment was given to it, but it died,” he said.
“It probably had problems since birth, which may have been the reason for it being abandoned by its herd,” he added.
The male calf was found abandoned in the Krishnavanam area under Pudur forest station on 15 June.
He was then sent back to the forest the same day to join the herd camping in the neighbourhood, but he was again found abandoned by them the next morning.
The forest officer said that all efforts were made to help the calf join the herd in Krishnavanam forest.
A temporary shelter was also built for the calf there but to no avail.
(Disclaimer: The headline, subheads, and intro of this report along with the photos may have been reworked by South First. The rest of the content is from a syndicated feed, and has been edited for style.)
May 15, 2024
May 15, 2024
May 15, 2024
May 15, 2024
May 14, 2024
May 14, 2024
