The Forest Department staff has named a two-year-old elephant calf at Sakrebailu elephant camp near Shivamogga after actor Puneeth Rajkumar, who passed away recently. The actor, during his visit to the camp in September, had spent some time with the calf. In memory of the actor, the Deputy Conservator of Forests I.M.Nagaraj and others chose his name.
Weaning operation
As part of the tradition followed in the camp, the calf was weaned from his mother Nethra on Wednesday, with the help of other trained elephants. The operation began at 11.30 a.m. and went on till the afternoon. Mr.Nagaraj told the media that the calf was supposed to be separated as soon as it completed two years. However, the process was delayed by three months due to rains. “We will keep the calf in isolation so that it could be trained. If it is not separated from its mother at this age, it would be difficult to control it later”, he said.
The calf is the fourth baby of elephant Nethra. Unless the mother is separated from her calf, she could not be engaged in other activities. “Normally in the forests, baby elephants stay with the mother for up to six years. In the elephant camps, we separate the baby from the mother so that it could be trained. The baby takes some time to get adjust to the situation”, said Vinay, veterinarian.
