ANOTHER ELEPHANT CALF RESCUED BY CWRC

KAZIRANGA, November 1, 2002: A month-old elephant calf was rescued from the Naharjan Tea state, 15 km from here, on October 29. Efforts were made to reunite the calf with its natal herd, but those turned out to be futile. The calf is now housed at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) here. A month-old pigtail macaque is also being treated at the centre.

According to the centre manager, Dr Rathin Barman, villagers living around the Naharjan Tea Estate heard the cries of the calf at around 7.30 am. They rushed to the nearby fields to see the calf lying upside down in a deep ditch. Two and half hours later, a call was made to the CWRC by the Bokakhat beat officer requesting for immediate help.

By the time the CWRC team could make it to the spot 45 minutes later, the villagers had already removed the elephant calf from the ditch. The team found that the calf had suffered mild dehydration and was limping slightly on its right foreleg. The calf was given a mud bath to rehydrate it and its was treated.

There were rumours that an elephant herd had been sighted around the area earlier. Frantic efforts were made to find the herd within a 10 km radius of the spot, but to no avail. Finally, at 11 in the night the calf was transported to the CWRC. The calf is being fed skimmed milk and all efforts are being made to prevent human imprint on the calf.

According to Dr Barman, the rescue team consisted of 25 people, including two Assistant Conservators of Forests of Kaziranga, two forest guards, the centre manager, the centre veterinarian, and two centre animal keepers, apart from the local tea garden labourers.

The same day, a month-old pigtail macaque was brought to the CWRC from the Morioni Forest Range Officer under Jorhat Forest Division. This is the first primate to be brought to the centre. The macaque is reported to be weak and is blind in the left eye. It is being treated too.