(IN): Baby elephant reunited with herd ( Transcript Text report )

[Guest guest]

*Link: http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070015866

 

Baby elephant reunited with herd

 

*Sampad Mahapatra

Monday, June 18, 2007 (Bhubaneswar)

It's all about a bond that stood the test of separation and love that proved

stronger than suspicion.

 

For the first time ever a herd of wild elephants accepted a young calf 40

days after it was in the company of humans. An adult female elephant

persuaded a junior member of the clan to rejoin the herd.

 

The seven-month-old female elephant Kalinga was separated from the herd on

May 5 after it fell into a ditch near Kalinga Studio in Bhubaneswar.

 

Officials of the Chandka Wildlife sanctuary rescued it but failed to reunite

it with the herd. Wild animals don't usually take back members of the herd

once they have been touched by humans.

 

So forest officials had no choice but to take her to the Godibari elephant

centre, treat her and let a *mahout* take care of her.

 

But Akshay Patnaik, head of the Chandka wildlife division refused to give

up. On Tuesday, he tried again.

 

He released the baby near a waterhole popular with elephants this summer,

hoping the elephants' natural affectionate nature would do the rest.

 

After three days of being together, Kalinga's charm seemed to have worked.

Patnaik though is still keeping his fingers crossed.

 

''I think they have accepted the baby elephant but now it's only an

experiment whether it will accept the herd or not and whether her feeding

habit is restored or not. That's the main threat since it was sterilized and

palatable milk.

 

We were feeding her every two hours with Lactogen so whether it will accept

mother's milk now or not, that's the thing to be seen. Otherwise it will be

separated again,'' said Akshay Patnaik, DFO, Chandka Wildlife Division.

 

Six tracker units are monitoring the herd. Initial reports by one group say

the baby has started taking her mother's milk, a sign that the reunion may

be for good.

 

Patnaik hopes Baby Kalinga will be part of the herd when they go into the

dense forests at the start of the monsoons.

 

''All my staff are feeling bad about leaving the baby in the open space but

wild is wild, so whenever it goes to the wild it will be a great

achievement,'' said Akshay Patnaik, DFO, Chandka Wildlife Division.

 

The unique and rare reunion came as a reward for the Chandka DFO who was

hell-bent on the idea of reuniting the baby with her family, even though

many considered it to be only a fond dream.