Elephant calf found dead in Korba district of Chhattisgarh

An elephant calf was found dead in a swamp in Korba district of Chhattisgarh on Saturday, forest officials said.

The carcass of the pachyderm, aged around six months, was found in a marshland adjacent to a pond in Saliyabhata village under Katghora forest division, a forest official said.

On being alerted about it, a forest team reached the spot and launched an operation to pull out the carcass from the swamp, he said.

Prima facie, the calf was part of a herd of 40 elephants that was seen roaming in the area, he said.

"The preliminary investigation suggests that the calf got stuck in the swamp and was trampled by an adult pachyderm in the herd leading to its death. However, the exact cause of the death will be known once we get the autopsy report," he said.

Chhattisgarh has reported the death of over 70 elephants in the last five years. These fatalities occurred due to different reasons, including ailments and electrocution, officials said.