Kerala - Kochi   

Captive tusker facing `elephantine' problem

Thanks to Forest Department's renewed interest in the animal

KOCHI: Narayanan is facing an `elephantine' problem.

Like this pachyderm of the Cochin Devaswom Board, many more of his ilk in the State will be in for similar hardships in the days to come, thanks to the Forest Department's renewed interest in the animal.

With overgrown tusks, Narayanan is experiencing agony with difficulty in moving the trunk to even consume palm leaves or water after forest officials declined permission for shaping its tusks, a practice in vogue for decades.

Devaswom Board veterinary surgeon Radhakrishan Kaimal said that time was already due for Narayanan to get its tusks trimmed as there was evidence of the tusks converging. ``Overgrown tusks cause severe pain and can even affect the animal's health. Feeding and walking will be affected as it cannot balance the weight with each of the tusks weighing between 40 kg and 50 kg. Besides, it is also dangerous for the men handling them,'' he said.

With the Forest Department issuing notices to the Board to give intimation on trimming and making their supervision mandatory, the process came to a halt a month ago. Though the Board did trim another elephant Sreeraman, the work was stopped following the intervention of the forest officials, Devaswom Board sources said.

Forest officials have registered cases against the Board officials and the worker carrying out the trimming.

There are more than 600 captive tuskers in the State, owned by different Devaswom Boards and private parties. The Cochin Devaswom Board has 13. Usually, the trimming is done every two years.

``We have no problem in intimating them. But there are only a couple of skilled people who can actually do the work and they may not be available as per the convenience of the forest officials,''

sources said.

Board officials said trimming was being done for the last two decades and for the first time now they found themselves in trouble due to the forest officials' diktat.

Recently, the same pachyderm was in the news following allegations of harassment to the animal by the mahouts. The Forest Department registered a case against the mahouts and the Board officials following complaints of torture. The present issue could be a sequel to that, Board sources claimed.

The Board and the surgeon claimed that it was a non-issue and it was natural that Narayanan developed swelling in its leg due the chains. The problem was later set right.

The surgeon said that with the move by the forest officials to clamp down on trimming, backed by some clauses in law, more tuskers would be heading for hard times. — UNI

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