Assam: Digboi’s mud-clad calf gets life at Kaziranga CWRC

Digboi: A baby elephant, rejected by its herd and rescued last week, has been shifted to the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) at Kaziranga for improved care and treatment.

The calf, which had sustained minor bruises, was rescued on September 19 after being denied acceptance by a herd. Since then, it had been sheltered at a forest nursery near the Nazirating Reserve under the Digboi Forest Division.

The rescue and care were jointly undertaken by the Digboi Forest Department and the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI).

“We have been providing all possible healthcare to the calf, which is government property. A team of forest personnel and WTI veterinarians has been monitoring its well-being,” said BV Sandeep, IFS, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Digboi.

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On Friday afternoon, a team led by Forester I, Nitish Das, transported the mud-clad baby elephant in a specially arranged vehicle, with due permission from the Chief Wildlife Warden.

“We are relocating the calf to Kaziranga CWRC to ensure it gets advanced treatment and better facilities if required,” Das stated while on the way.

The accompanying team also confirmed to NeNow that the creature was being transported in stable condition.

The reasons behind the herd’s rejection of the calf are yet to be fully ascertained.

Despite earlier efforts by the forest team to reunite the calf, the herd refused to accept it. Officials suspect the calf may have inadvertently been introduced to the wrong herd.

Wildlife experts point out that there are several possible reasons for such rejection. In many cases, weak or ill calves are abandoned because of poor survival chances.

Disturbances during birth, such as human presence or predator threats, may also disrupt maternal bonding. First-time mothers sometimes fail to care for their calves properly, while mix-ups with the wrong herd often lead to outright rejection.

Additionally, if a mother is unable to produce milk or the herd faces food scarcity, weaker calves may be neglected in favor of stronger ones.

Veterinary Surgeon Dr. Mehendi Hassan confirmed that the calf was stable enough for transportation. Officials expressed hope that, under expert care at CWRC, the young elephant will recover and may one day be rehabilitated back into the wild, as has been successfully done with other orphaned calves in the past.