After a three-day-long search, the forest department officials in the Nilgiris said they managed to track down the mother of a two-month-old elephant calf that got separated from its herd last week. The calf has been seen and photographed with the elephant that is believed to be its mother and another male elephant after it was reunited with the herd on Wednesday evening.
P. Arunkumar, Deputy Director of Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (Buffer Zone), said the animal had been fed by forest department staff and a mahout, Bomman, who is renowned for working with young elephants and calves at the Theppakadu Elephant Camp for around three days. Glucose and coconut water was given to the elephant calf over the three days while forest department staff searched using drone cameras for the mother of the animal.
After one unsuccessful effort to reunite it with a herd to which the calf was believed to have been a part of, officials redoubled their efforts on Wednesday with Field Director of MTR, D. Venkatesh, overseeing the operation. On Wednesday evening, forest department officials were taking the elephant to Congress Mattam to check whether the herd of elephants spotted there would accept the calf. On the way, they spotted a lactating mother by the side of the road. They immediately stopped the vehicle and released the calf.
With Bomman, the mahout leading the way, the calf was slowly guided towards the female elephant. Another male elephant which was part of the herd rushed towards the calf and guided the calf back to the herd. As light was fading, forest department staff left the area on Wednesday, confident that they had found the mother and the herd to which the calf belonged to.
On Thursday, using drone cameras, the forest department began souring the area to find the young calf. Mr. Venkatesh released images of the calf being part of the elephant herd.
Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary, Environment, Climate Change and Forests, tweeted a video of the calf being reunited. “In an incredible and fascinating exercise, the TN forest department united a baby elephant with her mother and herd after the baby got separated while the herd was crossing a swollen river in Segur Range. Team worked tireless 24x7 for three days,” said Ms. Sahu in her tweet.
