[1]For those passing through the Masinagudi-Theppakadu road traversing the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) on Monday, it was a touching scene - a herd of three wild jumbos exhibited exemplary parental care, more importantly the cow, showed maternal care after giving birth to a calf on the roadside.
As the just-born calf was not in a position to walk with its mother - its hind legs looked feeble and its attempts to walk failed — the mother and the other two female jumbos patiently waited for nearly five hours for the calf to move to a bush about 70 metres from the roadside.
As the calf lost energy to move further into the jungles, and could not breastfeed, the hapless mother jumbo stood motionless near it, looking worried and exhausted. The other two jumbos were moving around this mother-infant duo, providing them security.
Forest officials attached to MTR almost cordoned off the place to ensure that motorists did not disturb the herd. Nachiketh, a wildlife research student attached to the Indian Institute of Science, who was observing the events, said it was really touching to note that the mother jumbo did not eat a single blade of grass for hours together as its baby was struggling to get ready to feed.
Sources in the forest department said the calf usually gets ready in an hour to walk with its mother. In this case, the jumbo might have delivered a premature baby and that was the reason why the calf was struggling to stand and walk. The foresters said the calf-mother duo and the herd were still standing near the bush till dusk on Monday.
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/jumbo650jpgcropdisplayjpg-971