The Hindu : Death of elephant raises doubts over treatment

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 28, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Death of elephant raises doubts over treatment

By D. Radhakrishnan

UDHAGAMANDALAM, MARCH 27. The death of a wild elephant at Kalhallah near Singara a few kilometres from the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary has raised doubts on the efficiency of the forest department and the wildlife authorities in handling medical emergencies involving wild animals.

The ailing, three-year-old elephant, which had been separated from its herd, had been seen moving about listlessly near a private resort and the Maravakandy river.

The emaciated pachyderm was treated for dehydration and was back on its feet on March 23.

On Thursday, it was found to be extremely weak and measures such as moving it to a reservoir with the help of kumkis (working elephants) and a blood transfusion were contemplated. However, before a consensus could be reached on the treatment the animal died. A post mortem examination revealed that it had been suffering from peptic ulcer and worms.

Reacting to the death, some wildlife enthusiasts who had been closely observing the developments expressed the opinion that with concerted efforts the animal could have been saved. They hoped that the incident should be treated as an "eye opener" and a mechanism should be evolved early to deal with such situations. Pointing out that the ailments were not of a serious nature, they said that the efforts made to attend to the elephant's medical needs were inadequate.

However the Wildlife Warden, Ashok Upreti, when contacted, claimed that though the animal was found in an area which was not part of the sanctuary, both the officials of the sanctuary and those of the Nilgiris north forest division had made efforts to save the animal. Medicines had been provided by the forest veterinarians. Claiming that it did not die due to negligence, he said, "the elephant could not have been saved".

He brushed aside a theory that the death could have been due to anthrax. Regarding the medical facilities available at Mudumalai, he said that there were enough medicines at the dispensary in Theppakkadu.

Pointing out that there were about 700 elephants and 900 gaurs in the sanctuary, Mr. Upreti said that on account of the outbreak of anthrax at the Bandipur National Park which was contiguous to Mudumalai, precautionary measures had been taken in the Mudumalai sanctuary.

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