An elephant calf, which was abandoned by its herd after it came in contact with humans, was shifted to a zoo in Odisha on Thursday.
A video clip of the heart-rending scene of the two-year-old elephant being shunned by its family has gone viral.
The herd of 15 elephants was seen near a lake in Chikiti block of Ganjam district on Tuesday. A calf that got separated from the herd was rescued by fishermen and handed over to the State forest department.
“We had kept a close watch on the elephant herd to ensure that the jumbos didn’t enter any human habitations. During the day, the calf, which came in contact with humans, had made more than 20 attempts to join the herd, but the elephants did not accept it,” said Amlan Nayak, Divisional Forest Officer.
Mr. Nayak said, “On our part, 17 attempts were made to help the calf join the herd. We had even applied elephant dung on the calf so that it would smell like it was part of the herd. All our efforts went in vain. Every time, the calf went near the herd it was driven back.”
As the calf could face danger if left alone, the forest department decided to transfer it to a nursery. The Berhampur division later requested the Chief Wildlife Warden to shift the calf to a safer place where it could be better taken care of.
The calf was finally shifted to the Kapilas Zoo in Dhenkanal district on Thursday. “The calf would be kept in a special enclosure where provision of infrared light has been made for keeping the animal warm. A mahout would keep a constant watch on its health,” said Prakash Chandra Gugnani, Dhenkanal DFO.
