Wounded tusker put in kraal for treatment

Udhagamandalam: The wounded elephant, which was restrained near Marthoma Nagar in Gudalur division in the Nilgiris on Wednesday, was shifted to a kraal at Abhiyaranyam in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) on Thursday. This is the first time that an elephant was translocated without sedation.
The elephant was transported to Abhiyaranyam in a truck with the help of 30 forest range staff, 20 mahouts and forest veterinarians. “After the initial treatment given yesterday, the elephant could walk 200m to the truck,” said forest range officer G Ramakrishnan.
A team of expert veterinarians from the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) is monitoring the animal, MTR field director K K Kaushal said. “There is an extensive chronic wound in the tail region and swelling in left hind leg. The tusker is highly debilitated,” he said. “It is taking food. While we are hopeful of its recovery, it will take prolonged and intensive care.”
The injured elephant, aged around 32, had been roaming in the Gudalur range for the last three years. It was was retained at Marthoma Nagar overnight after first aid was given. Five kumkis and forest field staff guarded the tusker.