A mother elephant refused to leave her dead baby, which died at birth.
The heartbroken mother stayed next to the calf for more than 48 hours trying to revive the baby.
The tragic incident occurred at a village near Sakleshpur in Karnataka on September 25.
A herd of 12 elephants had approached the Kothanahalli village looking for fodder when one of them gave birth to a calf which died soon after birth.
The mother refused to leave her child. “She kept on nudging and gently rolling over the calf to try to revive it,” said Nagesh Gowda, a local villager.
The herd also stayed put refusing to leave the mother and could be seen gathering around her.
The villagers and forest officials kept a close watch thinking that the herd will move on.
But the mother and the herd refused to leave the baby for more than 48 hours.
On the evening of September 27, the forest officials burst crackers to drive the herd to the forest and sent the calf's body for post-mortem.