In a moving scene, a five-month-old wild elephant calf took its first uncertain steps toward safety in India after separating from its dying mother.
The young elephant was discovered crying and wandering through a coffee plantation in Chinnakanal, a town close to Munnar in Kerala.
Upon finding the distressed calf, locals noticed its apparent fear of the strange environment. Forest officials were alerted and determined that a herd of six elephants, including two other calves, was roughly a kilometer away.
Watch the video at the end.
Despite efforts to reunite the baby elephant with the herd, neither the calf nor the herd recognized one another.
Consequently, the calf was placed in a secure enclosure as rangers awaited the arrival of its mother. When she failed to appear, a patrol discovered her lifeless body nearby.
Devikulam Range Office’s Nibu Kiran explained that his team had taken the calf to a temporary holding cage, where it was given fluids.
They tried to identify and reunite the calf with its herd, but none of the elephants seemed to accept it. As a result, the calf was moved to a safer location within the range.
Dr. Abdul Fatah, a veterinarian from Periyar Tiger Reserve, examined the calf and confirmed it was in good health.
Munnar, a popular tourist spot known for its picturesque coffee plantations, is a hotspot for man-elephant conflicts.
The destruction of elephant paths in the area has dramatically impacted the animals’ movement, leading to increased encounters with humans.
Locals are all too familiar with wild elephants straying into their communities, sometimes causing traffic jams and damaging property.
Watch the video below: