Rourkela: In what has brought cheers to wildlife lovers and nearby villagers, a baby elephant has taken birth at Kuanrmunda forest range under Rourkela forest division in Sundargarh district recently.
The forest officials spotted the calf along with its mother Monday, though they preferred not to go closer to the mother-baby duo.
“Definitely, this is good news for all of us as a baby has taken birth after a long time under Rourkela forest division,” said divisional forest officer (DFO) Jasobanta Sethi.
The mother jumbo and the calf are doing well and roaming near Birkera under Rukudipeta reserve forest under Kuanrmunda forest range.
The forester learnt about the incident from the nearby villagers and informed the range officer of Kuanrmunda to constitute a team that visited the spot and found the mother-baby duo.
“We found the mother and the calf in good health,” said the forest officer.
Meanwhile, a video went viral, showing villagers rejoicing at the moment as the forest range got a new guest, even though the mother elephant was devouring the standing crops. The villagers were seen in the video leading the jumbo into the nearby reserve forest.
According to sources, a 24-member jumbo herd had been camping in the jungle for quite some days. However, the group split into two during mid-monsoon. While 18 went in another direction, six stayed put in Rukudipeta reserve forest and nearby areas. The mother-calf duo belongs to the smaller herd.
PNN