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Elephant killed by three tigers in Bandhavgarh
Sub-divisional officer of forest Panpatha core of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, L Bharti, said, “The one-and-a-half-year-old calf of elephant got distracted from the herd while drinking water. At least three tigers, as per pug marks found on the spot, attacked it and killed the calf.”
Three tigers reportedly killed a wild baby elephant in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh’s Umaria district on Saturday, a forest official said on Tuesday.
The official said for the past four years, wild elephants have been making colonies in Bandhavgarh and Sanjar Tiger Reserves.
Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR), home of 124 tigers, has more than 40 wild elephants.
Sub-divisional officer of forest Panpatha core of BTR, L Bharti, said, “The one-and-a-half-year-old calf of elephant got distracted from the herd while drinking water. At least three tigers, as per pug marks found on the spot, attacked it and killed the calf. We found the carcass of the calf on Tuesday morning. Some parts of it were eaten by tigers.”
Bharti added, “We found pug marks of three tigers near the spot. There were also marks of struggle among tigers and calves. A male and a female tiger were seen in the area on Saturday evening. This was for the first time in the state that a wild elephant was hunted by tigers.”
However, forest officials said this was a normal phenomenon.
It is uncommon in MP, but in South and national parks in northeastern states, the calf of the elephant is a regular prey of tigers.
Principal chief conservator of forest (PCCF) (wildlife) JS Chauhan said, “A calf killed by the tigers happened for the first time in Madhya Pradesh as the state hardly had a wild elephant population. Now, wild elephants are making colonies in the national parks of MP, neighbouring Chhattisgarh, and this will happen.”
Bandhavgarh is one of the finest Tiger Reserves in MP.
