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Elephant
dies while rescuing its calf in Tamil Nadu Barliyar
(TN): An elephant died while trying to save its calf which had slipped and
fallen into a pit near Katteri village in the Barliyar forest range of Nilgiris
in Tamil Nadu on Thursday. The calf fell into the pit during the midnight hours
and the mother elephant struggled to reach it. It is also believed that the elephant
aged around 22 years with its calf was trying to cross the Barliyar forest area.
Initially, forest rangers found it difficult to carry out the rescue operation
since the location was quite steep. "It was very difficult to reach the spot as
it is on a steep slope. Rescuers had to climb using ropes and other things but
we finally managed to reach there. The calf wasn't injured. We rescued the animal
after struggling for five to six hours," said Kannn, Conservator of Forests, Nilgiris
Range. However, environmentalists say that private tea estate owners are using
illegal methods to frighten elephants in the region that often result in the jumbos
falling into dug up pits and trenches around the tea gardens. "The area has a
thick presence of elephant herds. It is called as migration corridor and has a
number of private tea estates. These estates have illegally installed solar fencing
in order to drive away the elephants," said Jayachandran, an activist of Green
Movement. Experts have opined that massive deforestation, poaching and people
encroaching upon forest corridors have forced the elephants to move out of their
natural habitats in search of food and water. -July
24, 2009 Go
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