Orphaned Baby Elephant Dies in Calcutta Zoo

A baby elephant, separated from a herd that had strayed off its fire-ravaged reserve and wreaked havoc in several towns, died in a zoo from infections and apparent loneliness.

“We tried, but the little elephant is dead,” A. K. Das, director of the Calcutta Zoo, said Friday. “She could not fight infections and probably the pain of being away from her mother was too much.”

At least six people were trampled to death by the herd during its 10-day odyssey in early January that brought the herd as close as 60 miles to Calcutta, a city of 10 million people.

The herd has since returned to its forest home, but it left behind two baby elephants and a young female.