Elephant calf found dead in Assam

Tezpur, Feb 25 (PTI) An elephant calf was found dead in Sonitpur district of Assam, forest officials said on Sunday.

A herd of 10 wild elephants along with the calf entered Bihaguri Kalitagaon in West Sonitpur Forest Division of Tezpur on Saturday night, a Forest Department official told PTI.

“The Forest Department pushed back the herd, but the calf was unable to move due to injury and it was left behind by the group. The local people provided food to the calf during the night”, Assistant Conservator of Forest (Sonitpur) Gautam Mahanta said.

The age of the elephant calf was estimated to be around three years and it fell down on the field, he added.

Mahanta said that a post-mortem will be carried out to find out the reasons behind the death of the calf, which did not have any injury marks on the body.

“If the post-mortem cannot find out the reasons for the untimely death, the organs will be sent for the forensic science department to detect the cause”, he added.

Mahanta also said that usually elephant herds do not venture into farmlands in this season as the fields are empty.