Coimbatore: Veterinary team draws flak after diagnosing pregnant elephant to be a sick one (India)

Author(s)

Pramod Madhav, India Today

Date Published

 

A wild elephant was given treatment for nearly 6 days after passersby found it lying on the ground near Thadagam, Coimbatore.

Veterinary teams were informed by forest officials who initially diagnosed that there could be an infection in the elephant’s hind leg causing a disability to walk. The doctors provided the elephant with vitamins and nutritional supplements and decided to move it to Sadaviyal elephant camp for further treatment.

ELEPHANT GIVES BIRTH TO MALE CALF

The elephant after six days of treatment suddenly gained strength and began to eat and drink on its own. The wild elephant gave birth to a male calf on Monday morning. Now complaints are being raised against the veterinary team questioning their capability as to how they weren’t able identify a pregnant elephant carrying a fetus in the advanced stage.

DEMAND FOR ACTION AGAINST VETERINARY TEAMS

Complainants now want action to be taken against the vet team. “Earlier it was informed that the elephant was ill but now it is clear that it was only pregnant. How can they give treatment without knowing the cause of distress that to for an elephant which was in advanced stage of pregnancy. The forest officials and medical team have only caused great suffering to the animal. We are shamed,” said Vennila, a lawyer and an environmentalist.

Activists have filed a complaint with the collector and District Forest Officer for now. Coimbatore has become a major zone where wild elephants and human interactions have become unavoidable due to encroachment into the forest areas and the vet team has already come under fire for the death of ‘Madukarai Maharaja’, a bull elephant which died after being captured.

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/coimbatore-veterinary-team-pregnant-elephant-sick/1/794401.html