COIMBATORE: A five-month-old male elephant calf, which was abandoned by its mother two months ago and was being taken care of at the Wildlife Transit and Treatment Centre (WTTC) at Pethikuttai near Sirumugai after several reunion attempts failed, was shifted to the Kozhikamuthi elephant camp near Pollachi on Thursday morning.
The animal was taken in a jeep along with a few staff members, and special arrangements were made to prevent the animal from getting injured during the journey inside the vehicle.
"To prevent the animal from injuring itself, the inner body of the vehicle was set up with sacks filled with paddy straw. We did not tie the animal, and the driver operated the vehicle at a manageable speed. To avoid heat exposure to the animal, we started the journey from WTTC at 5 am and the vehicle reached the Kozhikamuthi elephant camp at 10.30 am,” said K. Manoj, Forest Range Officer, Sirumugai Forest Range.
Speaking about the calf's health, the official said that the decision to shift the animal from WTTC to the Kozhikamuthi elephant camp was taken after veterinarians approved the plan. The process began after the Chief Wildlife Warden Rakesh Kumar Dogra issued an order.
Though it was alone at WTTC for the last two months, special care was given to the calf. At the Kozhikamuthi elephant camp, experienced tribal mahouts and kavadis are available round the clock, and the calf can also socialise with the other female and male elephants.
"The food and surrounding environment will further boost the calf's health,” said the forest official.
Sources said that the animal would be fed one and a half litres of milk formula along with energy nutrients and supplements once every two and a half hours.
"The animal is active under the supervision of veterinarians, and currently it has no health issues," said an official of ATR.
According to sources, the calf was separated from its herd on April 25 and was wandering alone at Lingapuram. After rescuing it, the Sirumugai Forest Range staff made multiple attempts to reunite it with its mother. However, five attempts to reunite the calf with the herd failed.
On May 3, the animal was moved to the WTTC, as it was dehydrated.
