Jalpaiguri, 10 August: A pregnant cow-elephant died on Wednesday night after being hit by a goods train in Chapramari Sanctuary in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal.
”The fetus came out of the stomach of the pregnant elephant,” said a local resident.
Rajendra Jakhar, Chief Forester of the Wildlife Department of North Bengal said, ”The goods train from Dalgaon in Alipurduar was going towards Siliguri via Dooars through the forest.
The elephant was hit at around 2:30 am which resulted in her death.” Rajendra Jakhar believes that the mother elephant was about to give birth to a cub in the next 24 hours.
It is learnt that the speed of the goods train was running very fast on the way to the forest, violating the slow motion guidelines. However, the forest department has initiated a probe into the matter.
