Dhenkanal: With all efforts to unite a female elephant calf to its herd proving futile, the baby elephant has been the cause of concern for the Forest department in Kandhara reserve forest that comes under Hindol range of Dhenkanal district.
The calf that somehow got separated from its herd Sunday night came to a nearby human habitat. That is when locals spotted it and informed the nearby forest beat house leading to its rescue.
Even though all possible methods have been tried to unite the calf with its herd since then, nothing has worked out so far.
Given the numerous examples wherein mother elephants do not accept their calves if their bodies smell of human beings, the department smeared mud on the calf’s body to minimize the scent, but this too failed.
To add to the issue, the calf — aged about two years — has developed ulcers in its mouth. Due to this, it is not in a position to consume as much food as it should. This has led to deterioration of its health.
A veterinary expert team from Similipal examined the health condition of the calf June 26 and administered some medication but no improvement has so far been noticed in its health condition.
There is an elephant rescue centre in Kapilas zoo campus. However, there are already four elephants there and the authorities are in no mood to increase the number since that is not an acceptable proposition to them.
“The Forest department has tried several times to unite the calf with its group but has not been successful as yet. And it is not possible to accommodate the calf in the Kapilas zoo either. We are looking at options to see what best can be done for this separated calf,” said divisional forest officer Sudarshan Patra.
PNN