Kaziranga, October 8, 2015: A month old female elephant calf was admitted at Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) — an IFAW-WTI animal care facility — from Thoramukh Tea Garden near Daigurung RF area of Karbi Anglong on October 9, 2015.
Earlier, the IFAW-WTI Karbi Anglong MVS team led by Dr Daoharu Baro and an animal keeper, along with the Forest Department team, tried to reunite the calf with a wild herd after it was rescued from a trench by the Forest Department on October 8, 2015.
Dr Baro took all measures to stabilise the dehydrated and visibly weak calf with necessary treatment. The animal was treated near the site of the rescue so that a reunion with the natal herd could be attempted on the same day itself in the evening once the calf was stabilised. The team took the calf near the wild herd and moved back to watch the proceedings from a distance. Soon after, a female elephant rushed towards the calf and examined it with her trunk. Thereafter, the calf followed her and they disappeared in the forest sending a wave of jubilation in the team as they had been able to reunite the calf with the herd.
However, knowing that reunion is a long process and there have been instances where calves have been abandoned even after reunion, the IFAW-WTI team along with the Forest Department waited at the spot and spent the night at the spot to ensure successful reunion.
Next morning on October 9, 2015, the female calf was abandoned by the herd and found trumpeting by the forest near the Thoramukh Tea Garden. Immediately, the CWRC MVS team was alerted and Dr Panjit Basumatary with animal keepers rushed to the spot.
“The calf was in severe stress and we decided to shift it to CWRC for care. The animal was kept in a quarantine facility with an animal keeper overnight. The calf was behaving normally but was stressed,” said Dr Panjit Basumatary.
Thereafter, she was fed the milk formula which she gleefully accepted. The team will continue to monitor the calf to reduce stress and continue with the prescribed milk formula.
As part of the Elephant Reintegration Project, displaced calves are hand-reared for reintegration with wild herds. Very young calves are stabilised in the quarantine during admission. They are bottle-fed and kept indoors for a few months. Gradually they are introduced to the older calves that go for daily walks in the nearby forests and spend nights in an open-air fenced enclosure. They are then moved to the wild together and allowed time for in situ acclimatisation at the release site, under the care of an animal keeper.
