CHENNAI: Forest department has given a new lease of life to a four-year-old male elephant calf, which suffered grievous mouth injury in an alleged country bomb blast at Thadagam valley near Coimbatore.
Thadagam valley is the same place where wild elephants Chinna Thambi and Vinayagan made a name for themselves as habitual crop raiders. But well before the Chinna Thambi and Vinayagan saga began, this injured calf was part of an elephant herd which was indulging in crop-raiding in 2017. However, the calf was creating maximum trouble as it was barging into homes in search of soft palatable food.
Foresters puzzled by the abnormal behaviour of the calf called in veterinarians and a close examination showed that the right jaw was injured and tongue was cut. Jaw was warmer and soft indicating infection, possible fracture and the molar was slightly dislodged. This made it incapable of feeding on natural fodder in the wild.
Sanjay Kumar Srivastava, Chief Wildlife Warden, told Express, “Initially, we tried to treat the injuries by providing medicine-laced food, but other elephants in the herd used to grab the food. Meanwhile, the mother abandoned this calf as she gave birth to another calf. The situation turned dangerous for the calf as well as the people. So, we took the decision to capture it and gave treatment at Sadivayal elephant camp for a month. We made multiple attempts to release the calf into the wild, but each time the calf returned and started raiding the houses. Srivastava said having exhausted all options, the department decided to take the elephant into captivity and provided all necessary care.
V Ganesan, Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF), Anamalai Tiger Reserve, said the calf is currently leading a happy semi-wild life in the elephant camp at Kozhikamuthi with 20 other captive elephants. “It’s been nearly two years. The calf has completely recovered from the wounds and leading a normal life.”
The three-member expert committee, appointed by Madras High Court where a writ petition was filed by PS Narayanan, co-founder of Chennai-based ELSA foundation seeking release of calf into the wild, has backed forest department decision to take the calf into captivity. In the 35-page report submitted to the High Court, the committee ruled out the chances of the calf being released in the wild.
One of the committee members Ajay A Desai, an elephant scientist and the one who prepared the report on Chinna Thambi, told Express: “Sometimes, people challenge things without having any knowledge of the circumstances in which a decision is taken,” he said. Ganesan said: “Some stray things happen in nature and they have to be dealt in a certain way,” he said, referring to the decision to capture of Chinna Thambi recently and this calf.
The High Court has accepted the report of the committee and is to pronounce the verdict.