Elephant calf rescued in Assam

An elephant calf, which fell into a ditch in a tea estate, has been rescued and reunited with its herd in Assam's Golaghat district, forest officials said today.
A one-month-old male calf fell into a ditch in the Numalighur Tea Estate when a herd comprising 38 elephants was crossing the area last week.
A team of forest guards and officials led by Pratap Saikia, officer of Numaligarh Beat under Golaghat Territorial Division, rushed to the spot and spotted the calf with the herd waiting at a distance.
"To disperse the herd, we used whistles, burst fire crackers and fired in the air and finally lifted the calf," Saikia said.

As the calf had no injury, the team left it near the herd of the elephants who took it along with them.
Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation-in Charge, Dr Rathin Barman said many elephant calves had been displaced unnecessarily and it was one of those rare instances when this was effectively avoided by prompt action by the authorities and local people.
Since inception, the rescue team at CWRC has so far assisted the Assam Forest Department in reuniting 14 elephant calves with their natal herd and seven permanently displaced calves have been hand-reared and released in the wild.
Currently, six elephant calves are being hand-reared at CWRC for rehabilitation, he added.