Baby elephant killed by tiger in Bandhavgarh

A baby elephant was reportedly killed by a tiger in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, informed the Tiger Reserve officials on Tuesday. The elephant calf was aged around one and a half years.

"The carcass of a wild elephant has been found in the tiger reserve Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Umaria, Madhya Pradesh. The age of the elephant is said to be about one and a half years. It is for the first time a tiger has hunted a wild elephant, not just in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, but in Madhya Pradesh also," Deputy Director, Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Lavil Bharti said.

The tiger reserve is located in located in Madhya Pradesh's Umaria district.

Bharti further said, "As soon as the information was received, the Tiger Reserve Management officials reached the spot and got involved in the investigation. On Monday, the patrol team was patrolling the forest area in Badbah Muda of Chitrao Beat in the Panpatha Corps range of the Reserve, when the body of a wild elephant was found. The team informed the Tiger Reserve officials and the officials along with a team of doctors reached the spot and an investigation is underway."

According to the officials, a tiger was seen near the body and they identified the tiger's pug marks near it. The elephant's body also had marks of a tiger attack on its neck, added the officials.

On April 9, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the figures of the country’s Tiger Census (5th cycle) and revealed that the numbers of the big cat have once again increased in the country. He stated that the current numbers stand at 3,167 in the wild as of 2022.

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