BHUBANESWAR: The Forest department on Friday stepped up surveillance in Chandaka-Dampara wildlife sanctuary on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar after an makhna elephant was found in ailing condition.
A 22-year-old elephant roaming in Daruthenga area of Chandaka was found in an ailing condition in the morning. It showed signs of recovery at around 3 pm but relapsed after a 50-metre walk.
A veterinary team from Nandankanan and experts from the Centre for Wildlife Health (CWH) in OUAT rushed to the spot. Divisional forest officer (DFO) of Chandaka Wildlife Division Binod Acharya said the expert teams are monitoring the health condition of the makhna and have intensified supportive treatment, while the sample has been sent to CWH lab for diagnosis.
“The age of the makhna makes it less vulnerable to herpes virus. However, the symptoms in the ailing elephant appears to be a case of infection. The exact cause will be known after the report is received. In the meantime, we have have stepped up surveillance in the sanctuary area in view of the presence of two herds,” said an other forest official from the division.
He said a total 29 elephants are now roaming in the area which includes a 16-member herd is in Bharatpur and a 12-member herd is Chandaka. He further said that another makhna is also roaming in the region and added that the teams are on the ground to track the movements of the herds.
The concern of the forest officials stems from past incident in which a five-year-old female elephant, undergoing kunki training in the division, died of herpes virus infection in August last year. Three other elephants in the kunki training facility were also detected with mild viral load, prompting authorities to suspend the training in the facility for a brief period.
The Wildlife wing of the Forest department issued advisory to all DFOs to follow the SOP on Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV) infection, issued by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) considering the fact that the virus infection can be highly fatal when transmitted to young elephants.