[Watch] Elephant Herd Spotted By Bird Census Team In Chilika

Berhampur: The bird census team at Chilika lake had a rare citing. They came across a herd of around 13 elephants, including a calf and three tuskers.

The team members, which had set out for the annual bird count from Balipatapur side, on Tuesday morning said the presence of elephants in a wetland is a rare cite.

Speaking to media, Sadhvi Sindhura, project officer of WWF and member of the bird census team said citing of the herd was strange as elephants always avoid wetlands. Even locals informed the team that this is first time in more than 10 years that the elephants were seen in the area, she added. The team was led by forest officer Radha Kanta Hota.

Another team member Lalit Mohan Panda said “We were going in a small boat when we first felt we saw a mountain moving as we had never before herd of elephants in the area. What was unique was that the herd had a calf, which according to Lalit Mohan had slipped into the marshy water and was being rescued by three male elephants.

“After about 20 minutes of effort the male elephants rescued the calf. But, they did not move since it was day time and they waited there. Hota informed the local forest territorial team who reached the spot and started rescue work,” said Lalit Mohan.

Also Read: Bird-census-kicks-off-in-odishas-chilika-lake/