The Sun Was Taking a Toll on Their Energy
Elephants will never readily leave a family member behind. However, India’s highest temperature on record is 54.0 °C (129.2°F), meaning that summers are sweltering. The scorching sun’s heat was already sapping the herd’s energy, and the riverbank was humid.
As for the trapped calf, the sun’s baking rays had now begun drying the mud at its feet. Already exhausted, with increasingly low mobility, it seemed the herd would have to watch one of their own die, utterly helpless.
