Three wild elephants, including one calf, have been injured after they fell into a pit dug at the construction site of a Herbal and Food Park in Assam’s Sonitpur district today.
A calf came out of a herd and ran towards the construction site with the mother and another male elephant rushing after it when they fell into the pit dug for laying the foundation of a building of the Patanjali Mega Herbal and Food Park at the AIDC Complex at Ghoramari area of the district, a forest official said.
The male elephant managed to come out while the calf was rescued by forest employees and translocated to Kaziranga National Park after being provided treatment, Sonitpur West Divisional Forest Officer Diganta Barooah said.
The mother elephant is still stuck in the pit with veterinarians attending to it.
“The vets suspect that one of the rear legs of the elephant may be fractured and her condition is being closely monitored,” Barooah said.
The forest department has made adequate arrangement for continuing treatment during the night by installing flood light and providing other facilities, he added.
“Our people along with the forest department personnel regularly guard the site against elephant depredation during the night and the herd was not there for the last couple of days but suddenly appeared near the site this morning,” Park Coordinator and spokesman Uday Goswami said.
Patanjali was also providing all logistic support as requested by the forest department to shift the female elephant, Goswami added.