The Madras High Court on Thursday directed the Tamil Nadu forest department to expedite steps to reunite an abandoned elephant calf in the Sirumugai forest range of Coimbatore district with its herd to ensure the animal's safety.
Court's Remarks
"How long will it take to reunite it with its herd? You (forest department) have to expedite the process as continued separation and the prevailing hot weather may lead to its death," a special bench of Justice N Sathish Kumar and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy said.
Representing the department, Special Government Pleader T Seenivasan submitted that attempts were made to reunite the calf with its herd but there are practical difficulties.
Background of the Calf
According to the forest department, the calf was found abandoned in the Sirumugai forest range on April 26. A team of veterinarians, mahouts, and kavadis has been formed to take care of it, the officials said.
"We are strictly following the standard operating procedure (SOP) for handling the abandoned calf. We have tried to reunite it with at least five herds, but all the attempts were unsuccessful," the department said.
They added that a suitable herd with two or three lactating elephants has to be found to reunite as the calf is only three months old. Further attempts will be made till Friday to reunite the calf. If it does not yield the desired results, further action will be taken as per the standard operating procedure, the officials said.
Elephant Intrusion in Krishnagiri
In a separate incident, two wild elephants entered a village near Denkanikottai in Krishnagiri district on Thursday in search of food and water. "The elephants entered a mango grove near Thinnur village. They plucked and ate mangoes, causing damage to the trees," said G Venkatachalam, a local farmer. Residents raised an alarm and drove the elephants away. The animals crossed the Denkanikottai-Hosur Road and moved towards the forest. Wild elephants enter villages near Denkanikottai during summer as water sources in forests have dried up and there is scarcity of food.
