Reunited elephant calf found dead

Kalinga, a seven-month-old elephant calf, was found dead in the Chandaka Wildlife Sanctuary near Bhubaneswar last week.

Bhubaneswar(Orissa), July 2 : Kalinga, a seven-month-old elephant calf, was found dead in the Chandaka Wildlife Sanctuary near Bhubaneswar last week.

The elephant was found in the jungle, about a kilometre north of Bharatpur, though the cause of its death is still unknown.

The calf had become famous after reuniting with its mother, something that is believed to be very rare.

"The baby elephant was there from 11th onwards, the interaction was on 12th, then on 16 th it was seen that the baby elephant mixed with the main herd, then from that day, we observed that she was interacting and everything was ok," said Akshaya Patnaik, DFO, Chandaka Wildlife Sanctuary.

According to the officials, the calf looked fine till a few days back. After a while, he was not seen and they started searching for the baby in several patches. And finally on 26th, they found the body of the elephant.

"The only thing is that we have lost her, this is our bad luck. We regret and feel very bad. It is a tragic incident for our sanctuary. The baby's acceptance by the herd was a perfect reunion. The survival in our part was a good treatment and she recovered well. No infection was found. Even though we were expecting something might happen, things were running smoothly and our plan was working well. But since the result is negative, so I feel very sorry," added Patnaik.

Forest officials said they took special care of the elephant for about 40 days, keeping it in a special enclosure near the sanctuary gate.

Officials suspect that the calf could not adjust to the changing weather conditions in the jungle, that's why it had died.

The baby elephant was earlier abandoned by its herd on May 6, and reunited on June 16.

Nestled in the Khurdha uplands of the northeastern ghats' biotic region, the Chandaka Forest is a relic of wild land that once extended all over Bhubaneswar. Spread over 193.39 square kilometers of rolling tableland and small sprawling hillocks in Khurdha and Cuttack districts, it has been a wildlife sanctuary since August 1982. It is about 20 kilometers from Bhubaneswar city.

The sanctuary is pachyderm country. Originally established to provide refuge for elephants to minimise their depredation, the sanctuary is now a treasure-trove of biodiversity. The forest comprises sal, bamboo, maha limbo, cane and an array of plant life including the medicinal variety.

ANI