Southern States - Kerala   

Home for a jumbo calf

By Renu Ramanath

The baby elephant in its enclosure at the Kodanad centre. — Photo: Mahesh Harilal

KOCHI AUG. 29. Hardly do we know what babies think. We know less of what baby elephants think. But perhaps you can guess how this baby elephant, barely four months old and separated from the herd and its mother, feels.

Fear and sadness were writ large in its doleful eyes. With its little trunk, pink and dainty like baby's feet, it sniffed at the heavy logs framing its enclosure at the elephant rescue centre of the Forest Department at Kodanad, near Malayattoor in Kerala.

Some village residents rescued it from the fast-flowing Manimalayar, at Koruthode near Erumeli, on August 24 and handed it over to the Forest Department. The Department decided to take it to the Kodanad Elephant Kraal and Training Centre.

"Baby elephants are as delicate as human babies," said Ashok Kumar, Range Officer of the Kodanad Forest Range, in charge of the kraal. "They need extreme care and nurturing, especially to survive away from their natural environment."

Although it was only a few days since the calf had reached its new home, the little orphan had already learned to recognise it mentors, principally Subramanian, the mahout who takes care of such babies at the Kodanad camp.

While being fed cow's milk from a sterilised bottle, it would snuggle against Mr. Subramanian, seeking a sense of protection much like a human baby would.

Elephant's milk is quite thin, and so cow's milk is too heavy for baby elephants. It has to be diluted considerably and given in larg quantities. Only after three or four years do they start taking fodder or rice.

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