A wild elephant calf, rescued from a river at Kanhirakkolly, under the Taliparamaba forest range of the Kannur forest division on Friday, was shifted to the elephant kraal at Muthanga under the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary on Saturday.
A team of veterinary experts led by Arun Zachariah, Assistant Professor, Centre for Wildlife Studies, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, administered medicines to the calf on Saturday morning. “The female calf, aged nearly six months, was rescued by local people from Kanhirakkolly, when it was being washed away in floodwater two days ago. Though the forest officials tried to reunite the calf with the herd, the elephants did not accept it back as it had come into contact with humans,” S. Heera Lal, Assistant Wildlife Warden, WSS, said.
Later, the calf was shifted to the kraal at Muthanga for treatment, he added. “The animal is in a critical stage and we have started to administer fluids and antibiotics to it,” Dr. Arun told The Hindu.
