The cause of death of an elephant calf in Odisha was a piece of palm stuck in its throat

Odisha: An ailing baby elephant undergoing treatment at the Godibari Elephant Training Centre in Chandaka-Dampada Sanctuary on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar died after a palm seed reportedly got stuck in its throat, a post-mortem report revealed on Monday. According to sources, the three-year-old baby elephant was rescued in a critical condition from Devgaon forest in Bolangir district on August 21. The baby elephant was brought to the Chandaka-Dampada Sanctuary for necessary treatment as it was unable to eat food on its own due to wounds inside its mouth. The medical team of OUAT and Nandankanan Zoological Park conducted several tests including X-ray and endoscopy during the treatment and administered antibiotics and saline, but to no avail. The baby elephant died on Sunday evening. A post-mortem was conducted after the elephant’s death, which revealed that the elephant died after eating a palm seed. The elephant could not swallow the palm seed and it got stuck in its throat. The post-mortem report revealed that palm kernels were also found in the elephant’s stomach. Meanwhile, wildlife experts have expressed surprise at this incident.