Rejuvenation camp concludes, elephant safari to resume

The annual 48-day rejuvenation exercise for the forest elephants, which began on December 11 at the Kozhi Kamudhi camp in Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) in Coimbatore and Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) in The Nilgiris concluded on Tuesday.

With the conclusion of the camp, elephant safari for tourists will resume in both the sanctuaries from Wednesday.

The ATR, with 21 adults and a calf, accounts for the second highest number of forest elephants taking part in the rejuvenation camp, next only to Mudhumalai Tiger Reserve where 26 elephants are taking part. The youngest participant in the camp was an 11-month-old calf with the oldest being 67 years. 

The Coimbatore Division of the Forest Department was separately conducting a camp for its kumki, Paari (35), at the Chadivayal camp in Booluvampatti Range.

This was only the second year in which the rejuvenation camp was held separately for forest and temple elephants.

With a complete rest from regular activities such as safaris and driving back wild elephants into forests besides perambulation trips, the elephants look a lot more active and revitalised now, said ATR officials.

A team headed by Forest Veterinarian N.S. Manoharan worked out special diets, tailor-made for each elephant based on its age and health. It combined elements of Siddha, Ayurveda and Allopathy.

The mahouts were also trained on handling the elephants and were given new uniforms. Further, the kumki elephants were used to train other elephants in the camp, sources said.

A function marked the valedictory of the camp at MTR.

Stating that 26 elephants benefited from the camp, the Deputy Director of MTR D. Chandran told The Hindu that it had gone off without a hitch. Regular activities like elephant safaris and patrolling which had been put on hold since the commencement of the camp would resume on Wednesday

Each elephant has been provided with a health card. They would be weighed on Wednesday and their health status monitored regularly.

(With Inputs from D. Radhakrishnan, Karthik Madhavan and R. Sairam)