COIMBATORE: The one-day-old elephant calf deserted by its mother had been shifted to the Vandalur zoo in Chennai on Tuesday by Forest department officials.
The calf was spotted at Oomapalayam village near Mettupalayam on Monday. As the efforts of the officials to reunite the calf with the cow elephant had failed, they decided to shift it to Vandalur zoo. “We chose Vandalur as it has large number of elephants and the new born calf would be comfortable growing in their midst,” forest veterinarian N S Manoharan told Express. In an effort to reunite the elephant calf with its mother, the newborn was left near the village where it was spotted on Monday night. Forest department officials said that the parent herd of the elephant calf had come to the place but had not ‘responded’ and had failed to take it along with them.
On Tuesday, the calf was fed with tender coconut mixed with glucose and a pooja was performed. The calf was put in a car and taken to Vandalur where it reached by evening.