COIMBATORE: A three-month-old elephant calf that was orphaned after being separated from its herd in Dharmapuri recently, died of diarrhoea at the Theppakadu elephant camp inside the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) on Friday. Bomman and Bellie who featured in the Oscar-winning documentary The Elephant Whisperers were taking care of the calf.
The elephant calf got separated from its mother on March 7, and fell into a well near Neerkundhi village in the Hogenakkal range on March 11. After rescuing it, forest department officials tried to integrate it with a herd but their efforts failed and the calf was shifted to the camp.
According to a statement released by Theppakkadu Forest Range Officer N Manoharan, the calf was brought to the camp on March 16. It was fed Lactogen, a milk powder given to human babies as a supplement. “Normally, elephant calves do not have enzymes in their stomachs to digest lactogen. But they gradually adapt to the feed,” Manoharan said. This is the standard feed given to all calves, but some animals develop lactose intolerance which results in diarrhoea, Manoharan said.
‘Calf was very young and not in good health’
“The animal was very young and not in good health when it was brought to the camp. Its health continued to deteriorate despite the best efforts of our veterinarians”, he added. The carcass was buried after a postmortem examination. Sources said the death of orphaned calves due to survival difficulties like lack of
feeding by the mother is common.