Tusker toll at MP reserve reaches 11 as rescued calf succumbs

An elephant calf, which got separated from the herd and was rescued, died at the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) in Madhya Pradesh’s Umaria district on Sunday morning, an official said.

BTR Deputy Director Prakash Kumar Verma on Sunday said the elephant calf was found unconscious three days ago in the Panpatha buffer range. The forest authorities rescued the calf, which was aged around three months, and it was being treated at the Rama Elephant Camp, where it died around 6 am on Sunday.

With this, 11 tuskers have died in the BTR since last month as the reserve witnessed the deaths of 10 elephants in the last three days of October.

On October 29, four wild elephants were found dead in Sankhani and Bakeli under the Khalil range of the reserve, while four others died on October 30 and two on October 31.