Dhenkanal: A female elephant that was responsible for death of two persons at Jagatpur in Cuttack had an emotional reunion with its calf which had got separated from it following the efforts of the Forest officials. The 35-year-old pachyderm had unleashed a reign of terror in Jagatpur by killing two persons, September 29. Concerned over the killings, Forest officials tranquilised the animal and brought it to the elephant rescue centre at Kapilash zoo in Dhenkanal district. The female elephant was rehabilitated inside a crawl and was provided treatment. It was searching for its calf that had got separated from her while the mother jumbo was on the move. It often used to trumpet while searching for its calf and started showing aggressive behaviour.
Meanwhile, the male jumbo calf was also equally in search of its mother. The calf crossed the Birupa river in Jagatpur and passed through Tangi to enter into the Kapilash sanctuary. The Forest officials of Cuttack, who were tracking the movement of the calf, immediately informed their Dhenkanal counterparts about the arrival of the calf in Kapilash sanctuary. However, the jumbos in Kapilash sanctuary did not allow the calf to come near them. As a result, the calf strayed into Sorishiapada village near the sanctuary in Dhenkanal district and ate the paddy crops on the farmlands. Irked over crop loss, the villagers of Sorishiapada informed the Forest officials.
On being informed, a team of Forest officials led by the DFO tranquilised the calf and brought it to the elephant rescue centre. There it was left inside the crawl near the mother elephant where it had an emotional reunion with its mother. The female elephant which was showing aggressive behaviour so far immediately calmed down and began to lick its calf.
Later, the Forest officials took the mother and its calf in a vehicle and dropped them in a forest on the fringes of Narasinghpur and Satkosia under Hindol forest range when it was raining heavily in the area. This is the first of its kind incident in the state, Forest officials said. Protesting the move, locals staged a sit-in outside the Bondiri beat house under Hindol forest range. Forest officials tried to allay their fear stating that the two animals are in jungle and quite far away from the human habitats.
