On Sunday, a wild elephant calf was discovered deceased in Baghota Tola, which is part of the Balumath block in the Latehar district. After learning about the incident, a forest department team arrived at the scene and took control of the elephant calf’s body. According to local residents, they found the baby elephant lying near a paddy field on Sunday. Upon discovering that the calf was dead, the villagers promptly informed the forest department. Acting on the orders of DFO Pravesh Agarwal, a forest department team headed by Forest Officer Vijay Shankar Sharma arrived at the location. Following a preliminary investigation, the information about the case was relayed to the senior officials of the department. Subsequently, a team of expert veterinary doctors was sent to the location to conduct a post-mortem examination of the dead elephant calf. The Forest Officer said that the cause of the elephant calf’s death would be known after the post-mortem report is received.
The villagers stated that a herd of around 10 to 12 wild elephants had come to the village the previous night and damaged the crops in the paddy fields. It’s possible that the elephant calf may have died from being trampled by the herd.