A brave forest guard has told how he carried a baby elephant that was too weak to walk. The baby elephant was heavier than the guard Palanichamy Sarathkumar, even though it looked cute. People said that it weighed more than 100 kg.
Palanichamy Sarathkumar is a forest ranger who works near Metthupalam. He is the one who took the baby elephant. Mettupalayam is a small, forested city about 50 kilometers (32 miles) from Ooty, a beautiful hill station.
About three years ago, on December 12, Mr. Palanichamy got a call from someone on his way home from a night shift. It is said that a female elephant sneaked up to the Vanabhadra Kaliamman Temple and blocked the road. He went there with some people who were with him at the time.
They shot a few firecrackers at the elephant to make it go back into the forest. They keep looking for other elephants after the females left. Then they saw a small drain with a baby elephant stuck in it. The baby was very confused by the small drain. Palanichamy and his team pulled a rock out of a ditch because it was blocking the elephant’s way out.
Mr. Sarathkumar figured out that the female elephant by the road must be the mother of this baby elephant. But at that time, the calf was so weak that it couldn’t even walk, so it was hard to save it.After a lot of hard work, Palanichamy and the rest of the team were able to remove the stone and get the cub out.They wanted to get the calf to the other side so the mother elephant could find it again.They learned that mother elephants are usually very protective and can attack if you try to tame them.So, Palanichamy chose to carry the calf by himself. He decided to risk his own life instead of the lives of four others. He carried this 100-kilogram calf by himself, which was heavier than he was.
He put the baby elephant near a water hole and hoped that the mother elephant would find it.He waited for the mother elephant for a few hours, but she didn’t come. So, they thought she would come when everyone got back.So, they went back, and when they returned the next morning, the cub was gone. The baby elephant left its mark next to the bigger footprints of an older elephant. Mr. Palanichamy thinks they got back together and then left again before dawn.
“Elephant herds have a matriarchal structure, which means that the oldest female is in charge. The San Diego Zoo says that herds mostly comprise female family members and young calves. Depending on the food supply, herds can have anywhere from 6 to 20 animals. Herds often split into smaller groups that stay in the same area when the family gets too big. The Matriarch uses her knowledge and memory to find the best places to find food, water, and shelter from the weather. The matriarch also teaches her family’s younger elephants how to interact with other elephants.
