Chamundi, the elephant calf that strayed into Wayanad school, dies | Kerala News | Onmanorama
Published: September 17, 2025 12:47 PM IST
Updated: September 17, 2025 01:02 PM IST
1 minute Read
Elephant calf at Government LP School Chekadi. Photo: Special arrangement
Wayanad: Chamundi, the three-month-old elephant calf that had wandered into the Government Lower Primary School at Chekadi on August 18, died on Sunday afternoon at the Bella Forest Range elephant camp in Karnataka’s Nagarhole Tiger Reserve. The calf, named Chamundi by Karnataka forest staff, succumbed to internal infection despite weeks of care.
The Kerala Forest Department had earlier released the calf near a herd close to the Karnataka border, but the animals refused to accept it. The herd returned across the Kabani River, leaving the calf behind. Residents of Kadagadal village later alerted Karnataka forest officials, who took the abandoned elephant to the camp.
Elephant calf at Bella Forest Camp, Bandipur, Karnataka. Photo: Special arrangement
The incident had sparked an inter-state row, with Kerala officials insisting the calf was abandoned, while their Karnataka counterparts alleged Kerala deliberately pushed it across the border to avoid the burden of care. They argued a calf so young could not have walked four kilometres and swum across a rain-swollen Kabani River on its own.
For nearly a month, mahouts and veterinarians sourced goat milk from miles away to feed Chamundi, as it was too young to eat fodder. Wildlife experts, including Dr Arun Zachariah, Chief Veterinary Officer of the Kerala Forest Department, maintained that the calf’s abandonment was evident, pointing out that the herd would not have left it behind when it strayed into human habitats.
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