DHENKANAL: A four-year-old elephant calf reportedly died of illness at Bompha section in Hindol range on Saturday.
Sources said, the male elephant calf was abandoned by its herd a few days back after it fell ill. However, it was traced by forest personnel on Friday. While the elephant had difficulty walking, it had stopped eating. It succumbed to the illness before it could be treated.
Dhenkanal DFO Sumit Kar said the elephant squad spotted the calf in Bompha section on Friday. The condition of the elephant was critical and it was having difficult walking and making normal body moves.
“As soon as it came to our notice, we rushed to the spot and started preparations to treat it. But the calf succumbed this morning,” he said.
Angul circle RCCF Sudhanshu Khora along with other officials rushed to the spot where the postmortem on the carcass was conducted by veterinary doctors .
The DFO said though preliminary investigation suggests the calf died on illness, the actual cause of death can be determined after the postmortem report is received.