The herd was drinking water from the canal when the water level suddenly rose due to discharge of water by the DVC
According to a senior forest official from the state of West Bengal Government on Tuesday, herd of elephants On Monday night had gathered on edge of canal of the Damodar Valley Corporation to quench their thirst. The area lies under the Sonamukhi forest range of Bankura forest division.
“The herd was drinking water from the canal when the water level suddenly rose due to discharge of water by the DVC. While the adult tuskers managed to wade through the canal water, a male calf about one and a half years old got trapped and was drowned,” said SC Das, Divisional Forest Officer, Bankura (North) forest division.
The forest official said said that the herd had arrived from the neighbouring Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary in Jharkhand.
It is worth mentioning here that elephants are good swimmers and they do not get drowned easily but in this case the elephant calf got swept away in fast water current due to sudden discharge of water into the canal.
The elephant calf could not drag itself out of the canal because the embankment is of cement concrete and getting a foothold to extricate itself from the canal was difficult for the elephant calf and after several attempts, it got tired and was subsequently drowned in the canal.
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