An elephant calf wandered on its own and stepped into a city after its mother died.

The five-month-old calf was found roaming near Munnar in Kerala after separating from its herd on May 15.

Eyewitnesses said the baby elephant was not in distress and roamed around the town freely.

It was friendly with people and drew a curious crowd.

Local forest officials reached the spot and shifted the baby elephant to a rescue centre and gave it liquid food.

They also began searching for its mother and on the morning of May 18 they came across the body of a female elephant.

Forest veterinary officer Dr Abdul Fathah, who performed the post mortem, said: “The body was three days old and we suspect that she was the mother of the calf which separated from the herd after her.”

“The 25-year-old female elephant died after she slipped on a slope and fell on a rock that hit her chest,” he added.