Efforts to reunite the two-month-old elephant calf that got separated from its herd in the buffer zone of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) are continuing, stated forest department officials.
The elephant is said to have been swept away when the Sigurhalla River was in spate, and got separated from its mother and the rest of its herd. Teams of forest department staff managed to rescue the calf and searched nearby areas to find the herd to which it belonged to.
D. Venkatesh, Field Director of MTR, said that teams discovered a herd with a lactating mother on late Monday evening. Suspecting that the calf belonged to the herd, they released it in close proximity, hoping that it would be accepted.
However, the calf was once again found near a stream. Mr. Venkatesh said that six teams of forest department staff were continuing their efforts to find the calf’s mother.
Officials added that as the calf was so young, that the main objective of the forest department was to attempt to reunite it with its herd. They said that they would consider moving the animal to the elephant camp and hand-raising it if the herd and the calf’s mother are not found.
