Baby elephant dies after falling from hill

CH NEWS MANGALURU A one-year-old female elephant from a herd of elephants that had come from the Bhagamandala Reserve Forest has died. Forest officials conducted an inspection of the site and according to the preliminary post-mortem report, the elephant died of a heart attack, the forest officials said. A one-year-old female elephant calf died in the rubber plantation of Chandrashekar Gowda on the edge of the Harladka forest in Thodikana, on the border of Dakshina Kannada and Kodagu districts. Sulya Zone Forest Officer Niranjan told that the calf may have died due to shock caused by a fall from a steep hill. It is possible that a herd of elephants from the Bhagamandala Reserve Forest Area in Kodagu district entered the Harladka forest fringe area last night. It is estimated that the herd of elephants may have come near the rubber plantation while searching for food or while traveling. Later, while the herd was returning to the forest, it is possible that the baby elephant slipped and fell while climbing a steep hill. DFO Venkatesh received information about the death of baby elephant, Venkatesh visited the spot along with the ETF team from Aramburu, Sullia and informed senior officials. Forest officials inspect the site: Upon learning of the incident, forest officials and staff including Assistant Conservator of Forests Prashant Kumar Pai and Sullia Zonal Forest Officer Niranjan Shetty visited the site and inspected it. The location where the baby elephant was found, the surrounding terrain and the steep hilly terrain were examined. Officials also investigated the route the herd of elephants had taken and whether the baby elephant had become separated from the herd. A postmortem examination was conducted under the leadership of Dr Nitin Prabhu, Chief Medical Officer of Sullia Veterinary Hospital, to determine the exact cause of death of the deceased baby elephant. No external injury marks were found on the elephant during this time. The preliminary information is that the baby elephant died due to internal trauma caused by falling from the hill. The exact postmortem report is yet to be made available due to the holidays. The Harladka area of Thodikana is on the border of Dakshina Kannada and Kodagu districts, and the incident took place in a rubber plantation on the edge of the forest. It is possible that the calf, which was part of a herd of elephants that may have come from the Bhagamandala Reserve Forest, was following the adult elephants when the accident occurred.