Elephant Calf Separated From Herd in India is Reunited With Its Mother
- __ baby elephant separated from his mother and the rest of his herd in __ wildlife park in
- Tamil Nadu, south India, has been reunited with them by park officials. __ aerial photograph
- taken by officials shows the mother and calf, three days later, enjoying a nap on a slight incline
- with __ baby nestled in __ nook of his mother’s chest.
- The baby, only four to five months old, became separated from the mother and the herd at
- Anamalai Tiger Reserve in Pollachi on 29 December. Wildlife wardens saw him in distress looking
- around for his mother. Usually, a herd does not move on when a calf goes missing but in this
- case, both the mother and the herd had traveled about 2.5 miles (4 km) away. “Mostly, the herd
- moves away but a smaller group hangs around to locate the missing calf. But sometimes the
- herd, particularly in an area where there is animal-human conflict, moves away for safety. The
- matriarch has to choose between the welfare of the herd and the welfare of one calf,” said Kartick
- Satyanarayan, the chief executive of Wildlife SOS.
- Once the calf was found, a day after he was separated, drones were used to locate the herd.
- Before taking the calf to the herd, forest officials bathed him and spread mud on him to reduce
- any human smells. “It means the mother and aunts will welcome the calf back and it reduces
- their anxiety about any human imprint,” said Satyanarayan. The calf was then bundled onto a
- truck to be taken for the reunion. The staff were asked to monitor the mother and calf for a few
- days more and that is how they came across the two of them having a quiet nap.
(Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/03/elephant-calf-separated-from-herd-in-india-is-
reunited-with-mother – text especially adapted for this test).