40-year-old elephant dies in Kerala, grieving calf tries to wake her up

A 40-year-old elephant was found dead at Kallar near Vithura on Saturday with its calf found trying to nudge its mother awake, forest officials said. The nine-month-old baby elephant was seen trying to wake its mother,bringing tears to those watching its plight.

The carcass of the mother elephant, found in a private plantation, was first noticed by rubber tappers, who informed police and forest officials.

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Divisional Forest Officer, Thiruvananthapuram, K I Pradeepkumar said the animal's post-mortem examination has been conducted and it was found that death was due to some pulmonary disease.

The baby elephant did not allow anyone to come near its mother and only by 12 pm after officials managed to shift it to a rehabilitation centre at Kottur, could the officials go near the carcass of the elephant, which was a lactating mother, the official told PTI.

On May 27 last year, a 15-year-old pregnant wild elephant in the Silent valley forest had fallen victim to an act of human cruelty after she consumed a pineapple filled crackers, which exploded in her mouth.