A mother elephant refused to leave her dead baby, which died at birth.<br /><br />The heartbroken mother stayed next to the calf for more than 48 hours trying to revive the baby. <br /><br />The tragic incident occurred at a village near Sakleshpur in Karnataka on September 25. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />The herd also stayed put refusing to leave the mother and could be seen gathering around her.<br /><br />The villagers and forest officials kept a close watch thinking that the herd will move on. <br /><br />But the mother and the herd refused to leave the baby for more than 48 hours. <br /><br />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.
