Since the arrival of the five-month-old calf, there have been constant queries from visitors, who are eager to get a first glimpse of the baby elephant.

“At present we have kept the calf away from visitors as we want him to recover from the ordeal. He is under strict supervision of three zoo veterinarians who are monitoring his health,” said Raju Das, Joint Director, Alipore zoo.

The calf has been kept in an enclosure as he was too big to be kept in the zoo hospital. Since he is too young to eat solid food, he is being fed lactogen, ORS and vitamins.

“He was slightly dehydrated in the morning when he was brought here. The kind of treatment we are giving him is different from what he would get in the wild. There is an 80 per cent chance of the calf’s survival,” added Das.

The calf had crossed the Subarnarekha river on Monday and lost contact with his herd and wandered near the Nayagram area. The villagers chased the calf and kept it tied to a tree trunk in the Kamalpur primary school and later informed the forest department.