Newborn elephant calf found drowned in Raigarh

Raigarh | Correspondent: The carcass of a newborn elephant calf was recovered on Wednesday morning from a pond in Chhaidoriya village, located within the Tamnar forest range of Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district. Upon receiving information about the incident, Forest Department personnel immediately arrived at the scene and, with the help of villagers, retrieved the carcass from the water.

According to the preliminary assessment by officials, the calf died due to drowning; however, the exact cause of death will only be confirmed after the post-mortem report is received.

Regarding the incident, Ashutosh Mandava, the SDO (Sub-Divisional Officer) of Gharghoda (Raigarh Forest Division), stated that a large herd of approximately 51 elephants had been active in the area for quite some time. The calf had been born into this herd recently.

It is suspected that the herd visited the pond to quench their thirst during the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday, and the accident occurred when the calf ventured into deep water.

According to local residents, the elephant herd has been camping in the forests near the Samaruma-Amlidih route. The herd rests in the dense forest during the day and moves towards residential areas and roads in search of food and water as evening falls.

Forest officials have taken the carcass into custody and initiated the necessary legal and medical procedures to clarify all aspects of the incident.