Efforts under way to reunite elephant calf with herd in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve

Forest Department works to reunite elephant calf with herd in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve.

The Forest Department has undertaken an attempt to reunite an elephant calf that got separated from its herd in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) on Monday.

Officials said that the female calf, believed to be one-year-old, was found by itself in the Moyar region of the tiger reserve on Monday. A team of forest staff, who were informed of the calf’s presence, were dispatched to the area in an attempt to reunite it with its herd.

In a statement, Field Director of MTR, D. Venkatesh said that the elephant calf was taken near a herd close the location where it was found in Susurmattam in Avarallah on Monday evening.

He said that on Tuesday, the staff spotted three herds close to the area where it was released. He said that two of the herds had elephant calves that resembled the one that was found abandoned on Monday, and that the department suspects that one of the two herds has either adopted the calf, or had reunited with it following its release on Monday.

“In all probability, the calf would have reunited with the herd,” said Mr. Venkatesh, adding that three teams of forest staff are continuing to monitor the area.

Over the last few years, a number of elephant calves have become separated from their herds within the tiger reserve. Forest department officials said that previous experiences in reuniting the calves has led to the department achieve a high rate of success in reuniting stranded animals either with the original herds or others that had adopted abandoned animals.