UDHAGAMANDALAM: A month-old elephant calf found stuck in a pit in Pandalur forest range in the Nilgiris was rescued and reunited with its herd on Tuesday.
Pandalur residents, who were alerted by the loud trumpeting of a herd of elephants on Tuesday morning, had informed forest department officials.
Forest personnel conducted a search and found a female elephant calf in a mining pit in Goldmine RL area. “Usually, a nursing herd, comprising only female elephants, would be accompanying calves. May be after sensing the arrival of the forest team, the herd had left the place,” forest range officer Prasad Ganesan told TOI.
It took nearly two hours for the forest team to rescue the calf from the pit. “The calf might have fallen into the pit the previous night. The herd trumpeted for help to rescue the calf,” said the official.
As the calf looked weak, it was fed Lactogen and glucose with the help of mahouts at the Gene Pool Eco Park.
The team waited for more than two hours for the nursing herd to return to the place, but in vain. The calf was left inside a nearby small pit and was monitored.
A team was formed to search for the mother elephant and the herd. By 5pm, a herd was found a kilometre away. “We did not carry the calf to the herd as elephants are very sensitive to smell. If human scent is found, the herd might abandon the calf,” said Ganesan. “We made the calf walk a kilometre to reach the herd.”
But when the team left the calf close to the herd and left the place, the calf followed the team. “Two elephants from the herd came forward, threatening to charge the team. As it was a difficult terrain, we had to safeguard ourselves. Hence, we tied the legs of the calf with a whistle cord and left the place around 8pm,” Ganesan said.
On Wednesday, the team found the whistle cord and a trail of footprints left by the herd. “We ensured that the herd took the calf along. Elephants care for their young ones and family members like we do,” the official added.
