COIMBATORE: Forest Department veterinarians began administering tablets on Sunday evening to a nearly 30-year-old female elephant that was diagnosed with severe gastroenteritis on the fringes of the Periyanaickenpalayam reserve forests in the district.

Forest Veterinarian N.S. Manoharan, who led the treatment team, said the elephant’s stools were full of parasites and this confirmed that it had gastroenteritis. The animal was dehydrated, but rehydration could not be done as none could go near it.

Weak

“We have to tranquilise a wild elephant to provide treatment. But, this elephant is too weak to be tranquilised. So, tablets were the only option on Sunday evening. We concealed the tablets in bananas and banana stem.

The elephant ate these. We are discussing the next course of treatment with Chief Conservator of Forests, Coimbatore Circle, R. Kannan and District Forest Officer I. Anwardeen,” Dr. Manoharan said.

If the elephant’s condition improved with the intake of tablets, options such as firing medicine-loaded darts could be examined.

“We can think of only such an option as it is not possible to get close to the animal when it is not tranquilised. This is not a domesticated elephant. It has to first understand that we mean good to it,” Dr. Manoharan explained.

Accompanied by two calves, the elephant barely managed to walk a few feet into the forests in the Tholampalayam area of the Perinaickenpalayam reserve forests.

It had come out of the forests after being severely dehydrated. It tried to eat some tomatoes, but spat these out apparently because it did not like the taste. Villagers nearby thought that the elephant had vomited blood, Dr. Manoharan said.

He was optimistic that the animal’s condition would improve with the tablets.

Courtesy - Hindu