The elephant calf after it was removed from the ditch
Bokakhat (Assam), August 20, 2012: A wild elephant calf trapped in a ditch was reunited with its mother yesterday by the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) team assisting local authorities in Golaghat. This is the 12th elephant calf reunion facilitated by the centre that completes its 10th year next week.
A joint venture of the Assam Forest Department and International Fund for Animal Welfare – Wildlife Trust of India (IFAW-WTI), CWRC and its satellite Mobile Veterinary Service (MVS) units have successfully treated and released more than 50 elephants till date. These included calves that were hand-raised at CWRC and relocated to Manas National Park for reintegration with wild herds. Seven calves are currently being hand-raised at CWRC.
“It’s good news that the calf was reunited successfully, and especially when the centre is completing a decade of its service in Assam. I hope CWRC continues to develop as a rescue and rehabilitation centre,” said Sanjib Kumar Bora, Director Kaziranga National Park.
“Before CWRC’s existence, a lot of these displaced calves would either be killed or would have to spend their lives in captivity. We have proven that displaced calves can be reunited with their herds or saved and returned to the wild if appropriate actions are taken at appropriate times,” said Dr Rathin Barman, Senior Advisor, WTI.
The latest calf is believed to have fallen in the tea garden ditch on Saturday night when its herd was crossing the Naharjan Tea Estate near Galeka Balijan, few kilometres away from Bokakhat.
“We reached the spot and saw that the calf was in a weak condition. Some local people had helped it out of the ditch and were guarding it,” said Dr Abhijit Bhawal, IFAW-WTI veterinarian based at CWRC, who was assisting the Assam Forest Department authorities there along with keepers Lakhiram Das and Chandra Swargiary.
Through the villagers, the team learnt that a herd was nearby. After providing it some basic treatment, the team walked the calf towards the forests in Karbi Anglong hills, where the locals believed the heard was.
“The calf was less than a month-old female. It did not have any serious injury but was in severe stress as it was away from its mother since the night before. The locals were worried that the mother might come back and damage property if the calf was there, but we convinced them that the mother might accept the calf and tried reuniting them as the herd was nearby.”
