COIMBATORE: Animal activists expressed concerns after the elephant nicknamed Baahubali suffered an injury in his mouth allegedly caused by an avuttukai (a country-made bomb) near Mettupalayam.
According to forest department sources, efforts are on to treat the animal by giving it fruits laced with medicine to heal the wounds. “If this does not work out, the department is planning to tranquilise it for a few hours on Friday and provide medical care,” officials said.
The animal is currently in the Nellithurai reserve forest, and Coimbatore forest veterinary officer A Sukumar is monitoring the animal to study the nature of the injury. Over 20 field-level staff from three forest ranges are engaged in tracking the animal along with two sniffer dogs, Valavan and Bhairava.
Despite sources alleging that the animal is frequently visiting a water tank after being unable to bear the pain and returning without drinking water properly indicating that the animal is injured and is losing blood, department officials denied that it was injured after biting Avuttukai. They said the elephant was injured in a fight with another tusker.
M Siraj Deen, Coimbatore District Coordinator of Wildlife and Nature Conservation Trust, said, “We suspect the animal is hurt after biting Avuttukai somewhere in Mettupalayam or Sirumugai forest and immediate care should be given to the animal.”
“Similarly, in March this year, department officials had denied that a female elephant was not injured after biting avuttukai. The animal was captured after it damaged crops near Athimathiyanur in Karamadai forest range and it died. Following the postmortem examination, the forest department changed their version and confirmed that the animal was injured after biting Avuttukai,” he said.
N Jayaraj, DFO Coimbatore forest division told TNIE that they have only seen the animal from a long distance and the team has also visited wherever it is roaming. “However, the animal is not bleeding excessively, which is an indication that the animal is not injured after biting Avuttukai.”