Basanti goes berserk

New Delhi: With the Haathi Mere Saathi Campaign being in the planning stage, it was a usual afternoon in office for me at the Wildlife Trust of India. I was working on a proposal for the campaign, when I heard that the rescue team was leaving to tranquilise an elephant gone ‘berserk’ in Ghaziabad. That’s all that the owner Taufiq Ahmed ‘Haathiwala’ had called up and told the WTI team.

Handling a campaign for both captive and wild elephants in India, it was an opportunity I didn’t want to miss. Here was a chance to see what happens at ground zero, when an elephant is said to go ‘berserk’. So, WTI veterinarian Dr Bhaskar, the rescue team and I set off in the scorching heat and dust of Uttar Pradesh to help the elephant.

The journey was a long one, with the elephant wandering in the outskirts of Ghaziabad, in a village called Farooqnagar near Loni. We arrived to be surrounded by excited villagers, all giving various versions and pointing at the elephant that could be seen far away in the maize fields. Bit by bit, the owner started divulging the true story of what had happened. The elephant’s name is Basanti, she is 15 years old and she is the only elephant with him here in Ghaziabad, he has others in Delhi. He had bought her in 2001 at the Sonepur Mela. For six years she lived at the Rajaji National Park after being seized by the government, while her owner fought a case against them. This year, in January he won the case and got her back to Ghaziabad. No wonder the animal was agitated, first separated from her family as a calf and then from other elephants and the national park. To make matters worse, her old mahout had left her with yet another unfamiliar caretaker.

That was the immediate provocation for her to break her chains and run. We set off towards the field with almost every man from the village following us. Crowd management was proving to be a problem (though I was told that this situation was mild compared to previous cases of a tiger and leopard rescues elsewhere). The elephant, hearing all the noise and commotion, kept moving further into the fields.

Dr Bhaskar loaded his tranquilising rifle but was a bit worried, as Basanti had been agitated and out in the scorching heat the whole day. With her adrenaline levels pumping high, he feared that the effect of the tranquiliser would be negated. On top of that, as the fields were fairly level he couldn’t find a point high enough from where he could aim his shot.

But we had to make the best of the situation and it was decided that Dr Bhaskar, the owner and the temporary mahout would go as near to Basanti as possible while the rest of us would hold the crowds back. In the meantime the police, the DFO and other officials arrived on the scene. Basanti seemed totally confused, moving forward and backward, suddenly running and then just as suddenly stopping. In one such incident, she came charging towards us and unfortunately my colleague Devna and I happened to be in her direct path. It was one of the most terrifying moments of my life!  Fortunately, it turned out to be a mock charge and Basanti stopped.

It proved to be a long waiting game, as Dr Bhaskar kept looking for one right spot and chance when he could fire at her flanks. He was also waiting for the heat to go down a little as he didn’t want to tranquilise her under the harsh sun. But catch the villagers understanding, unwarranted advice and comments ‘bas lagaao goli’ and ’doctor dar raha hai’  kept coming! Slowly, it started to cool down and a beautiful breeze started blowing. But we were beginning to lose time and light. Basanti was refusing to stand still and kept changing her direction. It was difficult to imagine that if the night fell what would happen. As final strategies were being put in place, incidentally the chance came.

Basanti charged towards us, once again, but this time turned around giving Dr Bhaskar a chance to take a flank shot. And he didn’t miss the opportunity. We waited for the tranquiliser to take effect. In the meantime, everybody had started moving closer to Basanti. The veterinarian and the mahaut had gone near her and had put the chains around her. Dr Bhaskar in the meantime had given her an injection to revive her.

The veterinarian advised the owner not to move her and let her sleep in the field for the night. After giving more instructions and receiving thank you’s from thevillagers, we headed back home sweaty, dusty and tired.

Looking back at the beautiful half moon shining over the fields my thoughts kept going back to lonely Basanti sleeping in the fields. I can only pray that she is given a better life, love, stability and companionship. That the Government comes out with stronger laws against keeping elephants in captivity, so that no more helpless calves are separated from their family and end up alone in a strange land amongst strange beings.