An elephant calf that lost its mother — and its way — rescued after miraculous trek of 70-80 km through tiger territory

The wildlife department, already nether scanner implicit the deaths, pressed the panic button, and soon realised this was the missing subsister of the ill-fated herd that mislaid 10 members aft consuming kodo millets infected by a fungus.

Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) L Krishnamoorthy told The Indian Express, “This calf belonged to the herd. In total, 4 calfs died successful this tragedy. This 1 and different calf aged around  3-4 years, whose sex we don’t know, survived, isolated from an big elephant. We mobilised our full squad to rescue the calf.”

A team, including section veterinarians and darting experts, were called in. They rode connected 4 big elephants, which were brought successful from Kanha and Bandhavgarh tiger reserves.

The monitoring teams tracked down the calf, which had by present travelled astir 70-80 kilometres from Katni to Bandhavgarh connected its own, and managed to provender it grass, bamboo shoots and water.

Its travel was thing abbreviated of a miracle. The calf had travelled successful unfamiliar terrain infested with tigers until it reached the banks of the Chhoti Mahanadi stream successful Guda village, Katni district.

Wildlife activistic Ajay Dubey said, “It was important to way down this babe elephant. Around 2 years ago, tigers had killed a calf, and determination are a batch of tigers roaming astir successful this area. Elephant calfs are greatly babelike connected their parent and different caring herd members for their endurance and learning.”

Overall, it took a squad of 100 wood section unit to transportation retired the rescue operation. “These operations are challenging and utmost attraction has to beryllium taken. We can’t foretell the animal’s behaviour and determination are ever complications with darting an animal. This calf was nether utmost accent and we had to beryllium precise sensitive,” Krishnamoorthy said.

While the 4 trained elephants helped usher and calm the calf during the rescue, wildlife officials were cautious to usage a precise tiny dose to sedate the animal. It was brought backmost to a holding country that has minimal quality presence.

Veterinarians from Karnataka person present been called successful to usher the Madhya Pradesh wildlife department. The section has besides been studying modular operating procedures from different states, specified arsenic the 2023 SOP compiled by the Tamil Nadu wood section with tract experiences from the unit astatine Mudumalai National Park, which was adjacent featured successful Oscar winning documentary, The Elephant Whisperers.

As per the SOP, for the archetypal 24 hours, giving tender coconut h2o unsocial is sufficient. It besides states that for the archetypal 45 days aft arrival, it is advisable to provender lone milk. Then it’s indispensable that the calf beryllium reunited with the herd.

“We are pursuing the SOP. In Tamil Nadu, they person casual availability of coconut water, but we are looking for alternatives. There are 2 herds which are being tracked close present and we volition present marque efforts to find this calf a caller family,” Krishnamoorthy said.