COIMBATORE: With many wild elephant deaths reported from Coimbatore region in the past few months, this one is surely heart-warming. A 30-year-old female elephant that was found weak and unable to move in the forest near Anuvavi Subramanyaswamy Temple near Thadagam on the city’s outskirts and later shifted to the Chadivayal elephant camp for treatment delivered a male calf early on Monday.
A pleasant surprise that may be, but the incident has also raised questions about the treatment provided by the veterinarians to the sick mammal. Animal enthusiasts wonder how the veterinarians missed the simple fact that the elephant was pregnant when they examined it. They also asked how the Forest Department could allow it to be lifted with a crane and transported in a lorry to Chadivayal, 35 km away from Thadagam, if they knew it was pregnant.
After the delivery, the veterinarians had claimed that they were fully aware of the pregnancy while initiating treatment.
Ironically, District Forest Officer S Ramasubramanian had earlier said that the animal had constipation and that veterinarians had administered injections. “Initially, forest veterinarians thought that the elephant was not pregnant due to its age,” said R Mohammad Saleem of the Environmental Conservation Group.
Though wildlife veterinarian N S Manoharan, who checked the elephant at Thadagam on Thursday and treated it for stomach-related ailments, had not spoken about its pregnancy earlier, he maintained that his team knew all along that the elephant was pregnant.
“We already knew it. However, we did not know the exact month of pregnancy and when it would deliver. The animal’s health improved from the treatment,” said Manoharan, who was caught in a controversy earlier this year after the death of rogue elephant Madukkarai Maharaj following its capture and translocation.
For delivery, the veterinarians did not have to provide any help. The officials watched it from a distance, after the staff posted near Chadivayal camp informed Range Officer C Dinesh Kumar and Manoharan about the delivery. The animal was in a lying position, though it is usually difficult for an elephant to deliver a calf while not in a standing position.
Justifying his position, Manoharan said they had informed the officials concerned after noticing the pregnancy. “We lifted the animal using a crane without putting pressure on its stomach, and tied a belt around its neck to take it to Chadivayal,” he said.
“At Thadagam, there would be disturbance from the public. There is also the danger of wild elephants coming near. Plus, Thadagam does not have lighting facilities to treat the animal at night. The elephant was also facing difficulties due to the heat there. At Chadivayal, we have trenches to prevent wild elephants from entering the camp, water is available round the clock, the climate is cool and two Kumkis are permanently stationed there,” he said.Both the mother and calf are now healthy, the Forest Department officials said.