Real elephant story
An ailing 14-year-old male elephant was pulled out of the jaws of death through oral medication. It was treated in the wild, without being tranquilised.The elephant was first spotted along with a herd on August 6 on a farm near Chinnathadagam. Forest Department officials tried to chase the herd back into its habitat, assuming that the herd strayed into human habitations in search of food and water. But this animal refused to go back to the jungles.R. Kannan, Conservator of Forests, Coimbatore Circle, and District Forest Officer I. Anwardeen deputed a team to observe the animal and plan steps to treat it.Led by forest veterinarian N.S. Manoharan and Range Officer A. Soundarrajan, the team observed the animal for a few days and found that it had a severe swelling in the neck, oral cavity inflammation and profuse salivation owing to infection in the respiratory tracts. The animal was not breathing normally. The dung was black in colour and dry, a symptom of infection in the gastro intestinal tracts too, Dr. Manoharan said.
The team decided not to tranquilise the animal, since it was run down. A blow dart injection of antibiotics was used on the first day. The supporting therapy included B-complex tablets, liver stimulants, vitamins and minerals in tablet form.All these were tucked into banana, jack fruit and rice balls.Five kg of rice (50 per cent in the morning and another 50 per cent in the evening) was boiled.The balls were used as a camouflaging for asafoetida, pepper, saunf, coconut shreds, gingelly oil, jaggery, turmeric powder and salt.
These were wrapped up in plantain leaves. Risking their lives, forester M. Senthilkumar and a Forest Guard, along with villagers, kept the rice balls and fruits close to the animal, Mr. Anwardeen said.The animal consumed the stuff without wasting them, Dr. Manoharan said. It drank water from a nearby stream. As the elephant responded well to the treatment, the dosage was gradually increased.After enjoying the hospitality of the department for the last five days, the animal was now refusing to go back to the forests. The officials were trying to send it back to its habitat.
