A newborn elephant calf was found dead in a forest in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district, a forest official said.A 32-year-old elephant named Mangla gave birth to the calf in the forest next to Kamlapur elephant camp on Monday, said Poonam Pate, deputy conservator of forests (DCF) Sironcha.
The calf died soon after birth. The forest department performed a post-mortem and sent samples to a laboratory to ascertain the cause of death, she said. The Kamlapur camp in Sironcha forest range currently houses eight elephants.
Locals and tourists have been demanding dedicated veterinary doctors and other staff members for the camp, claiming that these posts were lying vacant at the facility and elephants don’t receive timely medical treatment.