Elephant calf found dead in Chhattisgarh's Korba

Korba, Sept 21 (PTI) An elephant calf has been found dead near a river in Chhattisgarh's Korba district, forest officials said on Sunday.

The carcass of the baby elephant, around one week old, was found during patrolling by the forest officials on Saturday in bushes along the Hasdeo river banks in Korbi village under the Kendai forest range of Katghora division, they said.

"Preliminary investigation suggested the calf died a couple of days back. It appears that the calf drowned and the carcass floated downstream with the current of the Hasdeo river," Kendai forest ranger Abhishek Dubey said.

The exact cause of death will be determined after receiving the autopsy report, the official said.

A herd of 54 elephants, including several calves, has been roaming in the Panagawa area of the Pasan forest range in the district. The calf found dead was possibly part of that herd, he said.

Chhattisgarh has reported the deaths of around 90 elephants in the last six years due to different reasons, including ailments and electrocution, according to officials.

Human-elephant conflicts in the northern part of the state had been a major cause of concern for the last one decade. The districts that have been facing the menace are mainly Surguja, Jashpur, Raigarh, Korba, Surajpur and Balrampur. PTI COR GK