Bamra: In a shocking incident, a mother elephant Monday got herself electrocuted while trying to rescue her four-month old calf. The calf also died in the process. This incident took place in Bagdihi range of Jharsuguda district, a report said.
The calf fell into a ditch in the wee hours of Monday at Bidmal near Bagdihi. The 15-year old elephant on the scene tried her best to get the baby elephant out of the ditch. While she was frantically trying to pull out the calf, she accidentally came in contact with a live electricity wire, and got electrocuted. With no other elephant at the scene to save the calf, it too died under the land mass.
Hundreds of villagers thronged the area and were seen worshipping the carcasses applying vermilion and offering flowers. On getting the news, Batakrushna Sethy, ranger, Bagdihi, Sunil Bhoi, forester and a team reached the spot. Later, KP Singh, RCCF, Sambalpur and Prashant Kumar, DFO, Jharsuguda arrived at the spot.
After autopsy, the carcasses were buried at the site. When asked who was to be held responsible, Batakrushna Sethy, ranger, said an investigation has been launched and its report would reveal everything about the incident. Notably, another jumbo had died in this area last September.