Injured elephant calf loses battle for life!

Erode, Tamil Nadu, Jan 22 (UNI) Efforts to treat an injured elephant calf at Mariyapuram forest area in this district failed this morning, as it succumbed to injuries after battling for life for 90 long hours.

Divisional Forest Officer Ramasubramaniam declared the elephant calf dead due to spinal cord and head injuries.

Earlier, on January 18, locals had informed the forest department about the injured calf, surrounded by four or five pachyderms.

Attempts by the forest officials to treat it with the help of two 'kumkis' (trained elephants) had been stalled due to resistance from its mother.

The officials had brought 'kumkis' from Theppakkadu in Nilgiris district on January 19 to separate the calf from the herd. Though the 'kumkis' had succeeded in sending all the jumbos back to the forest, the mother prevented the veterinarians from going anywhere near the calf to examine the injuries.

However, a mahout had managed to provide some glucose to the one-and-a-half-year-old animal.

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