Tusker ‘Rivaldo’ sent into kraal for treatment

Udhagamandalam: Following the Madras high court direction, forest officials managed to lead a tusker, ‘Rivaldo’, into a kraal near Vazhaithottam checkpost area on Wednesday for medical treatment. The elephant’s trunk was cut in an incident in 2012 and since then the jumbo had found eating difficult.
The tusker, aged around 35 years, has been wandering in Vazhaithottam and Mavanallah areas in the Masinagudi panchayat for the past six years. Slowly, the elephant become domesticated as people in these areas used to feed him.
In February, forest officials tried to take the tusker to the Theppakadu elephant camp in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) in the Nilgiris after the public raised concerns over deteriorating health of the jumbo.
“We tried our best to make the elephant walk to Theppakadu elephant camp in February, but in vain. Since it trunk was cut, it cannot be tranquilized,” said L C S Srikanth, deputy director, MTR-buffer zone.
Srikanth said Rivaldo was made to use the kraal without fear or compulsion for the past four days. Fruits and other eatables kept inside the kraal attracted him, he added.
This was the first of its kind of attempt of taking an elephant into a kraal without tranquilizing or forcing it, Srikanth said.
“As per the Madras HC direction, actions will be taken to treat the elephant. After a period of observation, a decision will be taken in consultation with a team of veterinarians and the findings will be submitted to the court.” he added.
The court, in its order, said, “The only purpose to keep Rivaldo in captivity is to heal his chopped trunk, which impedes his food intake, and attend to the impaired vision in his one eye.”