COIMBATORE: Officials of the Coimbatore forest division have taken a one-month-old male wild elephant calf to a captive elephant camp in the Kozhikamuthi tribal settlement in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) near Pollachi as the efforts to reunite the calf with its herd have failed.
The staff of the Madukkarai forest range of Coimbatore forest division noticed the calf roaming alone within the Ettimadai Police station limits in Navakkarai Pirivu on Wednesday night. Based on the instruction from Coimbatore forest veterinary officer A Sukumar, the staff provided medical assistance and milk and took efforts to reunite the calf elephant with its mother.
“We took the elephant calf inside the forest five times, aiming to reunite it with its original herd after identifying its mother. However, all the time, the mother in the herd refuses to accept the animal. Since the animal is just one month old, the prevailing weather conditions in summer pose risks for the calf elephant’s health. Hence, we have decided to take the animal to Kozhikamuthi elephant camp in the Ulanthy forest range in Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) near Pollachi.
The animal will be taken care of by the experienced mahouts and kavadis in a natural environment,” said an official of the division. Chief Wildlife Warden and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Srinivas R Reddy issued an order to transport the calf elephant to the captive elephant camp in Kozhikamuthi tribal settlement. The baby elephant is set to arrive at the camp late on Saturday.