COIMBATORE: A calf elephant was successfully reunited with its herd by the forest department in Gudalur in the Nilgiris.

Perhaps, the stressed female elephant, aged around one year, was seen frantically searching for its family. It was seen crossing the Masinagudi-Moyar Road multiple times out of panic on Monday. Therefore, the forest department suspended vehicle movement on the arterial stretch as a precaution.

Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) veterinarian Rajesh Kumar examined the calf elephant and found it to be in good health.

Besides a search by multiple teams, the forest department also deployed drones to trace the location of its herd. Later, it was let near a herd at Avaralla beat.

On Tuesday morning, the forest department staff noticed the calf elephant in the company of its own herd, while there were two more herds in the vicinity.

A team of three staff have been deployed to monitor the movement of the calf elephant and its herd.

In a similar recent incident, a calf elephant, which was abandoned by its sick mother on the foothills of Marudamalai Hills in Coimbatore, had died due to some ailment in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR).