Keonjhar: The elephant, which was struggling to give birth in Champua forest range since Thursday, delivered a dead female calf with the help of a veterinary team on Saturday.
The elephant was a part of a herd of 25 elephants including five tuskers, 12 female elephants and 8 calves that had moved into Jamdalak forest area under Champua range of the district a few days back.
On Thursday morning, two elephants safely gave birth to babies. Another 15-year-old female elephant felt the delivery pain but struggled to give birth and moved around amid pain across the forest.
Forest officials along with a wildlife treatment team had reached the spot to extend any possible help. But they could not go near the elephant which was encircled by other pachyderms.
However, the Forest officials kept a watch on the pregnant elephant and kept tracking it. They also called an expert team from Orissa University of Agriculture Technology (OUAT).
Meanwhile, the female elephant had moved to Kalikaprasad reserve forest. As it failed to deliver the baby, it was tranquilised on the advice of the experts.
The four-member team headed by Dr Indramani Nath, a professor of OUAT, started an operation on the elephant at 8 am on Saturday. The operation took about one hour and the elephant gave birth to a dead female calf. When the elephant came to consciousness after the operation, it was left in the forest.
Sanjib Rout, forester, Champua range said, “The operation was performed by an export veterinary team. The elephant gave birth to a dead female calf. We are monitoring its health as well as movement.”
Also Read: Forest Officials Stand Helpless As Elephant Struggles To Deliver Baby In Odisha’s Keonjhar
