Kaziranga (Assam) September 23, 2014: The rescue of the female elephant calf from Uma Tamuni island in the Brahmaputra saw her entry last week to the IFAW-WTI run Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation where she is currently under the process of stabilization. Follow the beginning here.
Meanwhile, her older male sibling had started showing increasing signs of distress upon being left alone on the island, pending rescue.
The IFAW-WTI team had been camping at Biswanath Ghat to monitor the elephant calf with the forest guards. The calf had started showing increasing signs of distress on being left alone after having lost his mother first and after his younger sibling was sent to rehabilitation. In his state of distress, he managed to destroy the forest battalion camp on the evening of 14th September, a few hours after the female calf was shifted. The forest battalion then moved to a boat in the river to observe him, since then, despite the risk of being charged at by an angry young male elephant.
Airlifting the calf by the Indian Air Force was an option considered followed by its release to the wilderness of the Kaziranga National Park on the south bank of the Brahmaputra. Yet another option voiced at a meeting of the Assam Forest Department in the presence of IFAW-WTI team was to transport the sedated calf on a wooden raft to the core area of Kaziranga National Park and release it there.
Dr. Bhaskar Choudhury, the IFAW-WTI veterinary team leader of the rescue operation advised the monitoring team to leave the elephant calf undisturbed prior to the scheduled rescue operation. Both rescue plans were initiated in parallel to leave nothing to chance. The Indian Air Force helicopter flew in with officials to take stock of the situation following GPS co-ordinates for rescue and release to the new site. Meanwhile a wooden plank was readied to carry the elephant calf by air and paraphernalia for a heavy duty raft were brought to the site by Dr Jahan Ahmad of IFAW-WTI.
With preparations for both options in place, the PCCF (Wildlife), Assam along with his team of higher officials arrived at Uma Tamuni island to take stock of the situation on Tuesday the 16th September . Directors of Kaziranga National Park and Nameri National Park were also present along with Divisional Forest Officers of Sonitpur East and Kaziranga with their teams.
The IFAW-WTI veterinary team of Dr. Jahan Ahmed and Dr. Abhijit Bhawal led by Dr. Bhaskar Choudhury were ably supported by the two government veterinarians from Sonitpur district Dr. Mahendra Bharali and Dr. Dipok Sharma. Dr. K K Sharma, HOD, Surgery from College of Veterinary Science, Guwahati and Kaushik Baruah, Honorary Wildlife Warden of Guwahati also got involved in the rescue operation. Kausik Baruah provided a sling to shift the animal. Dwipen Kalita, an elephant owner and trainer with his mahaut Ravi were also present during the operation. Padma Hazarika, Member of the Assam Legislative Assembly for Sootia constituency, the local public representative from Sonitpur district was also present during the rescue operation to extend his support.
The team met earlier in the morning at the circuit house at Biswanath Charali in presence of PCCF (Wildlife) prior to the rescue on 16th September 2014. The air lift plan was dropped after the Indian Air Force expressed their inability to air lift the animal by helicopter.
A decision was then taken to shift the elephant by raft to the core area of Kaziranga National Park and move for the action towards Uma Tamuni Island. A team of forest officials with one Assistant Conservator of Forests and a Forest Range Officer visited the release site by speed boat after the meeting, to assess the ground reality for a last minute check.
The elephant was located in a bamboo cluster on the island. After luring him out of its hiding place, Kaushik Baruah, Honorary Wildlife Warden of Guwahati darted him from a rocky vantage point in the presence of IFAW-WTI veterinarian Dr. Bhaskar Choudhury. The animal was sedated in due time and put into a sling.
Events took a quick turn from here on. Contrary to original plans, when Dr. Bhaskar Choudhry approached the PCCF for radio collaring of the animal for future monitoring in the wild, he was informed that the elephant was to be taken to Mihimukh in the central range of Kaziranga to be put under the care of the Assam Forest Department. A tough decision, under critical circumstances had to be taken by the PCCF, since it was feared that releasing a solitary young male elephant calf into the wilderness would have put a greater risk on his life, considering various other factors.
A critical situation brought about by floods, that had endangered the lives of three elephants thus resulted in a fresh lease of life to two after having lost one- a young female calf is under rehabilitation at CWRC and the male calf showing signs of growing into a tusker is now under lifetime care of the Assam Forest Department.
The IFAW-WTI team working with the Assam Forest Department, local people and other NGOs and the police facilitated his safe passage from a life threatening situation of living in conflict and danger on the island to a safe life growing up in the company of other elephants of the Assam Forest Department. You win some, you lose some. The silver lining is that the two orphans will grow up cared for, among their ilk and live without conflict.
