CWRC, May 16, 2015: A lone male elephant calf was rescued by the villagers and Forest Department personnel from Sonpura Range under Lohit Forest Division in Arunachal Pradesh on May 11, 2015. The calf was taken to Center for Bear Rehabilitation and Conservation (CBRC), Pakke, for preliminary observation and then admitted to Center for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), the IFAW-WTI run animal welfare centre, on Saturday, May 16, 2015.

Few students while returning from school spotted the elephant calf struggling to come out of a small water body in Bhim Chapori wetland near Assam-Arunachal border. They immediately informed the Sonpura villagers near Bhim Chapori who pulled the baby elephant out of the muddy pool. The villagers then brought the calf to Sonpura village on two country boats.

Sorang Tadap, a veterinary officer with the Biological Park in Itanagar, intimated the IFAW-WTI MVS team about the lone calf. The MVS -Arun team rushed to the remote site on May 13, 2015, to examine the elephant calf. The MVS team searched the area (around 20 kilometres) to see if there was any elephant herd in the vicinity but couldn’t locate one and then decided to shift the calf to CBRC.

Finally, on May 16, 2015, the calf was shifted to CBRC, Pakke Tiger Reserve, and then after initial investigation in the morning, it was decided to immediately shift the calf to CWRC for further care. “The animal was weak, dehydrated and a wound on the left ear was infested with maggots. We provided necessary treatment to the animal. Since the calf was to be shifted to CWRC — 700 kms from CBRC. We were worried whether the calf would be able to cover this journey. However, the calf was fine and covered the distance smoothly,” said Dr. Jahan Ahmed, IFAW-WTI veterinarian. The calf was admitted to CWRC on Saturday evening.

According to Tana Tapi, Divisional Forest Officer, Pakke Wildlife Sanctuary, the elephant calf is about two-month-old and needs better treatment and care for its survival. Well aware of IFAW-WTI’s elephant rehabilitation programme, the DFO gave permission to shift the elephant calf to CWRC for further care. The animal is under observation at the large animal nursery in CWRC.