Pathanamthitta: The death of an elephant calf that got separated from its herd in Moozhiyar forest in Pathanamthitta district had become news recently. The visuals that are doing the rounds of social media have opened up a new debate on its death. The images suggest that the calf died due to the unscientific manner in which it was dealt with by its rescuers and not due to insufficient nutrition as was reported earlier.
Social media users hinted that the healthy calf could have died after it was tied on the neck with a rope and dragged. The video footage that is circulating on social media now strengthens this view.
The mental shock of getting separated from the herd and the wrong approach of the untrained forest officers might have scared the calf, they claimed.
The calf was first spotted near the lookout point at Moozhiyar-Kakki road on last Wednesday morning. It had injury marks on its right leg and face. Though forest officials reached the spot, the calf withdrew into the forest by afternoon. Since then, the calf was seen several times on the Moozhiyar-Kakki road. It tried to scare away people and motorists. After this, the calf was spotted in a weak condition at Aranamudi near Kakki on Monday evening after a search conducted by the forest department officials from Kochukoyikkal and Pachakanam stations.
It died while it was being treated in the presence of Konni forest veterinary surgeon Dr Jayakumar in a hall next to the Goodrikkal range office on Monday night. Since there was water in its lungs, the calf was not in a position to consume milk. Officials admitted that though they tried to provide warmth and drip, the calf could not be saved. Since it got separated from the herd, the female calf that was about a year old was in a bad condition. Lack of milk resulted in loss of immunity, said Dr Jayakumar.
The forest officials believe that had it been provided treatment at the right time, the calf could have been saved as it was in good health when it was first spotted. They now regret the decision to leave it back to the forest as the herd generally doesn't take back those that are separated. Even then, the decision to capture the calf and take it to Konni was taken days later. By then its health had deteriorated further.
The carcass was buried after postmortem.
