Bhubaneswar: Shambhu, the 6-month-old elephant calf at Chandaka Elephant Training Centre in Khurda district, has sadly passed away.
According to reports, the calf was undergoing treatment for a right hind leg injury and had been receiving medical attention from veterinarians. Shambhu was found writhing in pain in an abandoned well in the Sukdola forest of Keonjhar on November 24.
Upon receiving the information, the forest department officials reached the spot and rescued the elephant calf with the help of a JCB machine and released it into the forest.
However, the elephant calf was not accepted by its mother or the herd. Forest officials attempted to integrate the calf with the herd but were unsuccessful. Eventually, on December 1, the elephant calf was taken to the Padampur Elephant Training Centre, where the forest staff named it ‘Shambhu’.
It was later shifted to the Chandaka Elephant Training Centre on December 14 to receive kumki training along with 7 other elephants.
The calf, being the youngest among the group, had won the hearts of the mahouts and forest staff. However, it suddenly became ill yesterday and collapsed today morning, prompting the authorities to call in local veterinarians for a health check-up. Despite the forest department’s best efforts to nurse Shambhu back to health, the elephant calf sadly succumbed to its injuries and passed away.
