An elephant mourning the death of its calf and guarding the carcass blocked traffic on the highway cutting across Bandipur for a considerable period on Saturday.
Though efforts were made to dissuade the female elephant to leave the carcass of the calf it stayed put and blocked the movement of vehicles on National Highway 181 connecting to Mudumalai in Tamil Nadu.
A video which has gone viral on social media showed the elephant trying to wake up the calf which had slumped to the ground and was not responding.
Initially, the Forest Department personnel were unsuccessful in goading the elephant back into the forest due to which vehicles piled up in both directions. Subsequently, the field staff managed to drive the female elephant back into the jungles and removed the carcass of the calf from the spot to pave way for the movement of vehicles.
The authorities said the elephant calf was a male and was ostensibly attacked by a tiger as evident in the injuries on its back and other parts of the body. There were deep canine marks and the 3 to 4 month old calf could not sustain the injuries. The Forest Department authorities said post mortem would be conducted as per norms.
