Baripada, March 7: Officials of Baripada wildlife division are facing difficulty to groom a five-month-old male elephant calf due to financial insufficiency.

The department officials rescued the abandoned elephant and lodged it in a nursery. They are now looking for sponsors to bear the expenses.

Bablu, the calf, is being groomed under the supervision of Dukura range office of Baripada wildlife division.

Range officer Batakrushna Tripathy said: "It has become a difficult task to groom the calf in captivity as its monthly food expenditure is around Rs 60,000. So far, I have managed by some means but now it is going beyond my capacity."

"We can overcome the financial crisis if someone wishes to adopt Bablu," Tripathy said.

Similipal Tiger Reserve authorities are also facing difficulties to manage the captive elephants due to lack of adequate funds. The sanctuary has five elephants in captivity including two tuskers. They are named Sobha, Mahendra, Sibani, Bhabani and Rajkumar.

These elephants are being used for chasing rogue jumbos in Mayurbhanj and other districts. Some of them are also being used for tourists' jolly ride.

The requirement for their maintenance, which covers food, fodder, treatment and salary of mahout, is between Rs 15 lakh to Rs 16 lakh per year. The authorities had placed a demand of Rs 16 lakh for the current fiscal, but they have received Rs six lakh only.

Honorary wildlife warden Bhanumitra Acharya said: "The sanctioned amount is very less for the current year. Last year, it was around Rs 14 lakh. It is not clear why the grant has been curtailed."

A sanctuary officer said: "We are trying to manage from other sources. "