Elephant calf dies of sunstroke

BARIPADA: Dry water bodies and shortage of water in the forest areas of the northern parts of Odisha have left the animals hungry for water. Falling pray to the rising temperature was a one-year-old elephant calf. Sources said the jumbo calf was found dead in the buffer zone of Similipal forest. Forest officials suspected intestinal convulsions as the reason for the death of the baby elephant. “The calf might have come in a herd to take drinking water and suffered from intestinal convulsions after taking water in quick successions,” said an official.The post mortem conducted in the calf confirmed that the elephant had died of heatstroke. The day temperature in the region was above 42 degree Celsius for the past three days. Regional conservator of forests Anup Nayak said during post-mortem examination the veterinary surgeon didn’t find any disease in the baby elephant. “The elephant couldn’t bear the high temperature and died of sunstroke," he said.In fact intense heat wave and high humidity have not only made the human life miserable, the animals too are bearing the brunt. With mercury shooting up in most of the areas, several traditional water sources in the forests have dried up, while the water level has receded elsewhere. For the animals like tigers, elephants and deer besides others, this summer has been the worst in recent times making them vulnerable to poachers.This northern zone has three reserve forests – Kuldiha in Balasore, Hadgarh in Keonjhar and Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) and national park in Mayurbhanj. Even as the forest officials claim that there are many perennial water sources inside the forest areas, the death of the elephant calf due to sunstroke exposed the vulnerability of the wild animals inside the jungles during the summer.In isolated pockets, migration of animals into nearby villages in search of drinking water has become a cause of concern to animal rights activists. “As the mercury rises, the frequency of such sojourns out of their habitat by animals is increasing, making them more vulnerable to poaching and hunting,” said wildlife activist Vanoo Mitra Acharya.“If immediate steps are not taken to provide enough water to the animals within forest limits, hundreds of them would fall prey to poaching and hunting,” he added. “Hundreds of animals are killed every year as wildlife managers and officers fail to monitor the situation or take timely measures,” he alleged.Forest officials however said though in buffer areas there are shortage of water bodies, but in core areas there are many perennial water resources in addition to the water harvesting structures made by the department to tackle the summer. “In Similipal and Kuldiha there are abundant numbers of water resources. Though the water level has gone down, the big water bodies are yet to be dried up. We also have some water harvesting structures inside the sanctuaries. We are alert to meet any challenges in the event of the sources drying up,” added Nayak.