Mother elephant refuses to part with dead calf in Nilgiris

COIMBATORE: In a poignant incident, a mother elephant refused to leave the side of its dead calf in Gudalur forest area in The Nilgiris on Tuesday.

The calf is believed to have died of some infection and a post mortem was done to ascertain the exact reason. Its carcass was spotted in a slush pool.

A team of front line staff of the Forest Department who were searching for Pandalur Makhna- 2 (PM-2), an elephant involved in frequent conflicts, had noticed a herd of three elephants trumpeting in the forest area in Padanthorai near Devarsholai on Monday afternoon.

Soon, a team led by senior officials arrived and spotted the herd surrounding the carcass of a calf. When they tried to drive away the herd to retrieve the carcass, the adult elephants turned furious and attempted to charge on the staff.

Therefore, the Forest Department suspended operations during night fall. On Tuesday morning, after persistent efforts, the other elephants retreated into the forest area.

“However, the mother jumbo refused to leave and continued to stand guard near the carcass. As she didn’t show any signs of leaving, two kumkis, which were engaged in the operation to capture PM-2 were deployed to drive away the mother elephant. Even after being driven away, the mother elephant stood a little distance away for a while watching its calf,” said an official.

After a post mortem, the carcass of the elephant, aged around one-and-a-half years old was buried in the same area.