A little over 30 hours after having been knocked down by a speeding bus, the injured elephant was shifted from Gopachandram forest nursery here in Shoolagiri to Theppakadu elephant camp in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) in the Nilgiris.
The elephant was hit by a State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) in the early hours of Monday near Shoolagiri on Krishnagiri – Hosur Highway recently.
The injured elephant after first aid and after supplements was transported via Bengaluru – Mysore – Bandipur before reaching Mudumalai covering an approximate distance of 240 km. distance.
The elephant was given medical care by a veterinary team from Coimbatore.
The X-ray results had shown fracture in the hind limb.
The elephant was too weak for intake of solid food and was nourished on injections all through Monday. On Tuesday, the jumbo was given bananas and jackfruit.
After mild sedatives, the elephant transported to a truck which had come from Chadivayal elephant camp near Siruvani in Coimbatore.
The shifting was protracted after considerable time was spent to ensure the fractured limb was handled with care.
The limbs were tightly clamped with a rope in order to ensure that the fracture was not aggravated.
The injured makhna reached the elephant camp at Theppakadu in The Nilgiris around 7.30 p.m. on Tuesday. Senior veterinarians said that during the nearly nine hour journey the special truck stopped twice en route to give a break for the ailing animal.
“It has a little water during the breaks,” a senior veterinarian told The Hindu.
Forest Veterinarians E. Vijayaraghavan and N.S. Manoharan are camping at the Mudumalai elephant camp.
On reaching the Theppakadu, the elephant was carefully unloaded using two cranes and carried to the kraal.
The floor was cushioned with a layer river sand and hay. Under the supervision of the Deputy Director of Mudumalai Tiger Reserve V.A. Saravanan it took about an hour for the animal to be unloaded and taken to the kraal.
A team of veterinarians from the forest and animal husbandry departments started treating it immediately after it was shifted to the kraal.
A few camp elephants were stationed close to the elephant for psychological support.
Experienced mahouts and elephant men would be giving exercises and physiotherapy, as part of the efforts to help the elephant get back to normalcy.
A senior veterinarian said that treating the elephant to complete recovery would be a challenging task.
However, he preferred not to comment on the expected recovery period as various factors influence it.
