Elephant calf killed in tiger attack; distraught jumbo refuses to leave baby's corpse

CHENNAI: An elephant calf was killed on Saturday in a tiger attack in The Nilgiris.

According to a Daily Thanthi report, the elephant and its calf were crossing the National Highway in Kudalur, Nilgiris district, at Saturday afternoon. A tiger lurking in the area suddenly pounced on the baby elephant and bit it.

Realising the danger to its child, the jumbo chased the tiger away.

The baby elephant was found critically injured in the tiger attack.

It is reported that the mother elephant was helpless with tears and vehicles passing that way were chased away by the parent elephant.

After receiving the information, Karnataka Forest Department rushed and inspected the area.

Initial investigations revealed that the baby elephant had died. The mother elephant stood beside it sadly, caressing the calf's body with its trunk.

Karnataka Forest Department was engaged in the task of driving away the mother elephant from there as it caused traffic commotion.

Vehicular traffic was banned on the Mudumalai-Bandipur road to avoid any mishaps.

After a long effort, the forest department chased the mother elephant into the forest.

Vehicles were reported to continue to pass on the National Highway after 2 hours.