At a time when the whole of South India was shocked by the act of a mother in Kannur of Kerala who murdered her 18- month-old boy-child so that she could live with her paramour, here comes the heart rending story of a mother’s love and affection for her 18-month- old ‘child’ who died accidentally. The incident did not take place in the civilised world of human beings but in deep forests of Gudalur Forest Range in the Nilgiris.

Forest officials have been moved by the tragic story of a mother elephant’s attachment with its first-born calf which fell into a swamp and died despite the efforts of the elephant herd to pull it out of the dangerous area. The calf died last Sunday and since then the mother elephant and other pachyderms in the heard are standing guard to the carcass. The elephants, especially the mother elephant, do not allow anyone to go near the swamp where the carcass is lying,” said G Ramakrishnan, Range Officer, Gudalur, told The Pioneer over phone from Padanthorai.Ramakrishnan said efforts are underway to remove the herd from the spot where the carcass is lying because there are possibilities of the elephants developing infection from the carcass. “We have deputed five persons to distract the attention of the elephants and by Friday night, four of the elephants in the herd have left the spot and went back to the interior forest. Now we are trying to remove the mother elephant too from the spot. The unique bondage between the mother and the calf is because of the fact that the baby is the first child to be delivered by the young mother,” said Ramakrishnan.

He said the elephants have not attacked anyone till now. According to a seniopr forest official, the incident serves as a proof that the mother-child  bondage is one and the same in human beings as well as animals.