Coimbatore: A 45-year-old female elephant that had been roaming around a farm in Jarathal near Erode along with its calf died of some illness on Wednesday.
According to a source, one Ramu spotted the elephant lying unconscious and its calf roaming around as he was passing by Pappathi Farm in Jarathal around 6am and informed the villagers.
People soon gathered at the spot and alerted the forest department. The villagers made an attempt to feed sugarcane and corn to the animals, but the calf didn’t let them approach its mother elephant.
Forest officials, along with veterinary doctor Asokan, reached the spot. This time too, the calf didn’t allow the veterinary doctor to approach the adult elephant to offer treatment. Asokan subsequently tranquilised the calf to provide medical help to the adult elephant. But, the elephant died.
The forest officials rescued the calf and took it to Sennampatti forest range. “We are providing treatment to the calf,” they said.