A heart rending sight unfolded near near Kavadiammal temple in Pallam, Coimbatore, when a 2-year-old baby elephant did not leave its dead mother’s side and chased away anyone who came near them.
It was only thirty six hours later that forest officials could approach the dead mother after they managed to wean the baby away by offering it some food. They then did the post mortem of the pachyderm.
The 30-year-old female was roaming with her baby when she fell down and died on the spot. The video shows the baby desperately trying to nudge his mother awake.
The carcass was found in the area early on Wednesday, with the calf moving around it. Though forest officials separated them for a while, the calf again returned to its mother in its attempt to wake it up. The exercise continued till Thursday morning, police said.
A kumki (trained elephant) was brought to take the calf away, but it started playing with the calf, they said.
As a last resort, officials kept banana, sugarcane and jackfruit at some distance from the carcass to wean away the calf. While it was busy eating them, the post mortem was done at around one PM, they said.
Internal injury and resultant bleeding due to a fall and inability to consume food was said to be the reason for the mother elephant's death. She was buried on the spot.
(With IANS inputs)