Guwahati: Two wild elephants, including a one and half month old calf, died in separate incidents in Biswanath and Jorhat districts of Assam, officials said on Tuesday.
A Forest Department official told IANS that the body of an elephant calf was found in a large mud pit in the Rangajan neighborhood of Titabar in Jorhat district on Tuesday close to the Mariani Hoollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary.
“It is suspected that the calf got separated from the herd in search of food on Monday night and lost its way and fell in the pit while running fast out of fear,” the official said.
The scream was reported by the locals, although at first, they resisted going near it in case there were adult elephants around.
“Elephants make sounds, and when they are in situations like these, the mother elephant becomes enraged and attacks humans. After we alerted the forest authority, they discovered the calf was by itself. Regretfully, the animal passed away before receiving any assistance from the forest authority,” a locals stated.
Meanwhile, an adult male elephant died when it fell in front of the Donyi Polo Express in the Buroighat area of Biswanath district late on Monday night.
“When the train arrived, a herd of wild elephants was reportedly crossing the railroad tracks. The other elephants managed to cross but one of them fell in front of the train,” an onlooker reported. After the incident, a group of vets from the Forest Department arrived at the scene, but they reported that the elephant had already passed away.
–IANS