The body of the elephant calf. Picture by Eastern Projections

Nagaon, June 21: Two elephants, a mother and its calf, died after they fell into a pond in the foothills of Kondoli, 35km from Nagaon, last night.

The incident took place when the pair was proceeding towards the hill in a herd comprising 40-45 animals.

The calf was the first to fall into the pond as soon as they had crossed Titajuri Basti.

The mother jumped into the pond to rescue the calf.

The villagers moved the Kothiatoli forest range office this morning to inform the authorities about the herd of elephants, which remained there till morning.

The villagers, oblivious to the incident that had taken place at night, feared an attack by the elephants.

The calf was one year old, while the mother’s age is yet to be ascertained.

The incident took place 1.5km from Kafitoli reserve forest.

There are 12 reserve forests in Nagaon, bordering Karbi Anglong.

Nagaon divisional forest officer Aftabuddin Ahmed confirmed the incident.

“Both of them were dead when our team reached the site,” he said.

There are two forest divisions in Nagaon district — Nagaon and Nagaon south.

Deforestation is rampant in some of these reserve forests, forcing the animals to stray into areas of human habitation.

Most of the villagers left the area as soon as the herd started to move.

“Initially, we had thought that they would start damaging the houses but the truth came out only in the morning when forest department personnel found the two dead elephants in the pond. The mother was found floating with her four legs up and the calf was at the bottom,” Manoj Dey, a villager, said.

“It is an unfortunate incident. Had it been reported to the forest authorities in time, something could have been done,” another villager said.

Villagers often see herds of elephants moving from one place to another, forcing them to temporarily flee from the site.

“The situation becomes scary at night when they suddenly start to attack and damage houses,” Raman Das said.

He recalled how in December 2006, a large number of elephants, numbering nearly 120, had suddenly invaded neighbouring Hojai.

The elephants roamed the streets of the town, while wildlife officials and police tried to disperse them by firing in the air, by bursting firecrackers and beating drums.

Thousands of residents of Hojai had to run for their lives. A few persons were injured and several bamboo houses were damaged in the ensuing chaos. The total population of elephants in Assam, according to the 2002 census, is 5,246.

In April, a 22-year-old elephant fell into a swampy pit in a remote area of Assam’s Dhansiri reserve forest from a height of about 30 feet and dislocated its hip joint.

While the experts considered mercy killing, the elephant succumbed to its injuries.

Last year, a speeding train hit an adult elephant and two calves close to the Rani-Garbhanga forest reserve on the outskirts of Guwahati.