Bengaluru, Nov 13: Karnataka Forest Department has named a two-year-old elephant calf at Sakrebailu elephant camp near Shivamogga after actor Puneeth Rajkumar, who passed away recently.

“Puneeth Rajkumar had visited this camp & he was with us for more than 2 hours. He spent time with this elephant calf. After a request from staff, public, we named the calf after actor Puneeth,” Deputy Conservator of Forest (Shivamogga wildlife division), Nagaraj said.

Actor Puneeth Rajkumar passed away due to heart attack on October 29.

He breathed his last at the Vikram Hospital in Bengaluru.

He was admitted to the Vikram Hospital in Bengaluru after he suffered heart attack earlier in the day.