A wild elephant calf, rescued from Kanhirakkolly, under the Srekantapuram section of the Kannur Forest Division on Sunday, was shifted to the elephant kraal at Muthanga under the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS) on Monday.
A team of veterinarians, led by Assistant Forest Veterinary officer V.I. Gigimon, transferred the calf to the kraal and administered medicines.
“The male calf, aged nearly two months, was rescued by local people at Kanhirakkolly, after it was abandoned by its herd two days ago. Though forest officials and villagers tried to reunite the calf with the herd, the elephants did not accept it,” WWS warden in charge P. Dhaneshkumar said.
Later, the calf was shifted to the kraal at Muthanga for treatment, he added. “The animal is in a critical condition, and we are administering fluids and antibiotics to it,” Mr. Dhaneshkumar said. Elephants are extremely sensitive to infection, the warden said, adding that calves that had been suckled by their mothers for at least three months had a survival chance of nearly 60 to 70 per cent, while those abandoned within a month of birth had a survival chance of around 10 per cent.
Nearly a year ago, a female elephant calf, which was washed away in a flood at Kanhirakkolly, had been rescued and shifted to the Muthanga Kraal. “We named it Ammu, and it is perfectly healthy now,” Mr. Dhaneshkumar said.
Appu, a five-month-old male elephant calf brought to the kraal from Vythiri in the district a few months ago, after it was abandoned by the herd, is also doing well, he added.
The animal, which is in critical condition, being administered fluids and antibiotics
Published - March 01, 2016 12:00 am IST
