Forest Rangers Feared Elephant Won't Accept Separated Calf. They Did This
A two-month-old elephant calf that got separated from its herd in Assam's Kaziranga National Park has finally been reunited with its mother. A video, which is now viral, shows the calf, first disoriented, then walking away into the forest with its happy mother. Forest officials can be heard shouting in the background " ja ja ja (go go go)".
The calf was found alone and distressed by locals at Borjuri village, near the park. They quickly informed authorities, and a rescue team led by veterinarian Dr Bhaskar Choudhury acted promptly to reunite the calf with its family.
The heart-touching moment was shared by Susanta Nanda, a retired Indian Forest Service Officer on X (formerly Twitter).
In the video, one of the forest officials can be seen gently rubbing the calf with the mother's dung on its trunk and legs to mask any human scent, ensuring that the mother would recognise and accept her calf.
"Chotu got separated from mother at Kaziranga. It was united later with its mother. The forest officials applied mother's dung to the calf to suppress human smell. Happy reunion at the end", wrote Mr Nanda on X (formerly Twitter).
Chotu got separated from mother at Kaziranga. It was united later with its mother. The forest officials applied mother's dung to the calf to suppress human smell. Happy reunion at the end ☺️ pic.twitter.com/0sN1RbQ55E
— Susanta Nanda IFS (Retd) (@susantananda3) July 6, 2025
The video has over 47,77,000 views along with many heart-warming messages from social media users.
"Happy reunion", said a user. "Oh this is such a beautiful story. Thank you", said another. "Nature has its own language - and forest officials spoke it with heart. What a thoughtful and beautiful reunion", commented another user.
Kaziranga National Park
Home to more than 2,200 Indian one-horned rhinoceros, Kaziranga National Park was formed in 1908. In the year 1985, the park was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Along with the iconic Greater one-horned rhinoceros, the park is the breeding ground of elephants, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer. Over the time, the tiger population has also increased in Kaziranga, and that's the reason why Kaziranga was declared as Tiger Reserve in 2006.
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