The injured elephant in the tea estate near Nunoi Range, Udalguri, Assam

Elephant, injured in conflict, gets treatment

Udalguri (Assam), August 26, 2009: A wild sub-adult makhna (tuskless male elephant), severely injured during a conflict with humans in Nunoipara tea estate near Nunoi range, Udalguri (Bodoland), about a fortnight ago, has recovered considerably through continuous medical care being provided by the Assam Forest Department.

The elephant was first sighted by Forest officials on August 9. It had sustained severe cuts in the posterior side of the hind limbs and the tail was severed in two places, believed to have been caused by knives. With the help of civil administration personnel, the Forest officials rescued the elephant from irate locals and attended to it.

IFAW-WTI veterinarians Dr Anjan Talukdar and Dr Prasanta Boro were called in last Friday to tranquilise the elephant for thorough examination and further treatment.

Dr Talukdar accompanied by Dr Prasanta Boro, veterinarian at the Assam Forest Department, IFAW-WTI run Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), tranquilised the elephant and attended to it. The wounds were cleaned with antiseptics and a dose of long-acting antibiotics was administered.

“We have been providing treatment to the elephant since August 10. We are monitoring the animal. It was last sighted a few days ago, and seemed to have responded well to the treatment,” said Bankim Sarma, DFO, Dhansiri Forest Division, who spearheaded the operation.

Dr Anjan Talukdar, IFAW-WTI veterinarian, treats the elephant in the tea garden ditch

“Dr K Somua, Veterinary Surgeon, Govt. of Assam provided the initial treatment with the help of a trained elephant, a week ago, when it was very weak. This treatment proved to be very useful but tranquilisation was necessary for complete examination and proper treatment,” said Dr Anjan Talukdar.

“Soon after darting, the animal ran fast and climbed down into the wide tea garden drain before passing out. We worked on the wounds and made all the interventions in this position. Continuous rain made the treatment difficult, but helped a lot to maintain the body temperature of the animal, which shoots up post darting,” he added.

Dr Anjan Talukdar dresses the elephant's severed tail

“Antidotes were injected following the treatment and soon after, the elephant woke up and resumed it normal movement,” recalled Dr Boro.

In view of the number of instances of human-elephant conflict in the area, the Forest Department has taken several critical steps to minimise it. “Similar conflict cases were reported in earlier months too. Currently, we have teams including members of civil administration, NGOs, local villagers and Forest Department, who monitor and try to prevent such conflicts. We have six teams in six forest compartments. Last year too we had formed squads involving tea estate managers to mitigate conflicts,” Sarma said.

IFAW-WTI veteinarians and Forest officials watch from a distance, as the sedated elephant recovers

“We have been conducting awareness programmes to motivate the local people to help us address these issues. The response has been good; even tea garden workers are now helping us,” he added.

India has a population of about 27,000-28,000 elephants, 40 % of which survives in the northeastern states. Although elephant habitat in Northeast India spreads across 41,000 sq km, less than 6000 sq km falls under the protected area network; thus, instances of human-elephant conflicts are high.  

Conflict with humans is one the major threats facing the Asian elephant across its distribution range. WTI along with its supporters have been working across India to secure critical elephant corridors to provide safe passage for elephants within their home range aiming to minimise conflict with humans.