CWRC, Assam, September 13, 2017: A female elephant calf that had been separated from its natal herd was rescued from a trench in Behora Tea Estate in Assam’s Golaghat district and brought to CWRC (the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation, IFAW-WTI and the Assam Forest Department’s wildlife rescue, treatment and rehabilitation facility near Kaziranga National Park) on September 11.
The tea estate is part of an area that has been used by resident elephant herds of the Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong landscape since their existence in the habitat. Elephant herds are accustomed to using tea garden alleys/channels as passageways when moving through such areas. Very young calves can sometimes fall into nullahs or trenches, requiring rescue particularly during the monsoon when the ground is unfirm underfoot.
“The calf was severely dehydrated and could not even stand”, Dr Ali said. “It was in such a weakened state that a reunion with the natal herd could not be attempted.”
Reports from the field suggest that the elephant calf had fallen into this trench earlier the same day and had been extricated by its natal herd. However, it fell into the trench once again as the herd moved on. It was later rescued by tea estate workers, who informed the Assam Forest Department. An emergency call was made to CWRC from the Numaligarh Forest Beat and an IFAW-WTI Mobile Veterinary Service (MVS) team led by veterinarian Dr Samshul Ali reached the spot.
“The calf was in a severely dehydrated state and could not even stand”, Dr Ali said. “It was in such a weakened state that a reunion with the natal herd could not be attempted. We decided that it should be transported to CWRC for its betterment.”
The calf is now under stabilisation at the centre’s Large Animal Nursery and is being monitored round the clock by Dr Ali and Dr Panjit Basumatary. It is reportedly responding well to oral rehydration and supportive treatment.
With this new addition, there are now thirteen orphaned elephant calves being hand-raised at CWRC in the hope of eventual wild rehabilitation.
Note: A similar incident had occurred in Behora Tea Estate in October last year though the calf in that instance, a male, had been reunited with its mother shortly after being rescued by an MVS team.
