Elephant calf succumbs to injuries

COIMBATORE: An injured, three-month-old elephant calf, deserted by his mother in the Kargudi forest range in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) died on Monday evening.

The calf was spotted earlier in the day in a highly dehydrated condition. It had suffered a deep wound on the forehead, sources said. "We dressed the wound and tried to rehydrate the calf orally. We also took efforts to reunite it with its herd. We also planned to bring it to the camp if the animal could not be reunited," said KK Kaushal, field director of MTR.

"The calf had an injury on his forehead, probably caused when a sharp stick pierced him. The wound got infected and the animal was unable to breathe," the forest range officer of Kargudi Sivakumar said. A post mortem was conducted and the carcass was left in the open for carnivores to feed.

NS Manokaran, former joint director of animal husbandry department, said the nature and severity of the wound and cause was not clear.

Shankar turns aggressive

Meanwhile, a video of wild elephant Shankar lifting logs in the krall at Abhayaranyam forest in MTR went viral on social media. Forest range officer Dhayanandhan said the animal turned aggressive when humans approached it and that it was common with wild animals in krall.

Asked about the stability of the krall, Kaushal said two permanent kralls would be built the next financial year for future cases. Shankar will be managed with this temporary krall, he added.