Kaziranga, Assam, May 9th 2024:  The frontline staff of the Assam Forest Department discovered a lone elephant calf on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra River, deep within the Biswanath Range of Kaziranga National Park. Upon realising that the calf was without the protection of its mother and herd, the staff acted swiftly to secure the young elephant. They sought assistance from the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) team, jointly operated by the Assam Forest Department, WTI, and IFAW, to provide the necessary aid.

The forest officers took immediate action to ensure the elephant’s safety, providing temporary shelter near the rescue site in hopes of reuniting it with its natal herd. The team from CWRC rushed to the scene to assess the calf’s condition, which was mildly dehydrated but otherwise unharmed. The Forest Department utilised a drone to scan the surrounding area for any signs of an elephant herd, and they successfully located a group of six adult elephants and four to five calves 8 Kilometers from the rescue site. Upon arrival, the team assessed the number of lactating mothers in the herd and carefully attempted a reunion.

A temporary shelter was created for the elephant calf  | Photo by CWRC team, WTI

Using a boat, the Forest Department and the CWRC team safely transported the elephant calf to the herd’s location. Upon reaching the destination, they maintained a safe distance while gently releasing the calf. As soon as it saw its herd, the calf rushed towards them, resulting in a heartfelt and successful reunion. The prompt decisions and coordinated efforts of the Forest Department and CWRC team to reunite the calf with its herd paid off.

During the first few years of their lives, elephant calves are entirely dependent on their mothers for survival. The vulnerability of a calf when separated from its herd is stark, as the herd provides crucial protection against predators, and a young calf lacks the skills to fend for itself. However, it’s a sad reality that elephant calves often find themselves separated from their mothers for various reasons, such as accidental falls into human-made trenches, natural trenches, or wells. In some cases, the separation is a result of an irrecoverable disease or physical disability in the calf. Tragically, there are also instances where human-elephant conflict contributes to the separation of elephant calves from their mothers. The circumstances that led to this particular calf’s separation from its mother remain a mystery. The herd is being carefully monitored by the Forest Department and no reports of any separated elephant calves in the area have been received since the rescue operation.

The Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation & Conservation (CWRC) is a one-of-its-kind facility for the rescue and rehabilitation of injured, displaced and orphan wild animals in Assam, India. Since 2000, the centre has successfully reunited seventeen Asian elephant calves with their herds.