Abandoned elephant calf from Dharmapuri dies at Theppakadu Elephant Camp

An elephant calf that was brought to the Theppakadu Elephant Camp in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) from Dharmapuri died after a sudden bout of diarrhea on early Friday morning. The young calf, that was being brought up by Bomman and Bellie, the mahout and cavady made famous by the Oscar-winning documentary, ‘Elephant Whisperers’ suddenly suffered a bout of diarrhea on March 30.

An elephant calf that was brought to the Theppakadu Elephant Camp in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) from Dharmapuri died after a sudden bout of diarrhea on early Friday morning.

In a statement, forest department officials stated the three-month-old calf, that was brought to the camp on March 16 th was being fed a diet of lactogen usually fed to human babies. However, elephant calves usually do not possess the enzymes necessary to adequately process lactogen in their stomachs, and only gradually develop the ability to do so.

The feed is tailored to each calf to ensure that this capacity to process lactogen is built-up over a period of time. However, in some cases, resistance to lactogen among young elephant calves only manifests itself suddenly, when the animal suffers from diarrhea.

The young calf, that was being brought up by Bomman and Bellie, the mahout and cavady made famous by the Oscar-winning documentary, ‘Elephant Whisperers’ suddenly suffered a bout of diarrhea on Thursday evening.

Its condition continued to deteriorate over the course of the day, despite the best efforts of veterinarians at the camp, and the animal died at the Theppakadu Elephant Camp on early Friday morning, officials said.

Officials also reiterated that the chances of survival of extremely young calves in captivity is multi-factorial, and that such deaths, though extremely sad, are not uncommon among elephant calves that get separated from their mothers at a very young age.