KAZIRANGA: Domestic elephants in the Northeast are much better cared for and in a better condition than elsewhere in the country. This was the prime observation of wildlife scientists who attended the just-concluded elephant festival here.In all, 237 domestic elephants attended the just-concluded Elephant Festival 2003 here. Of these, 190 were administered a health check-up and implanted with microchips. The health camp was jointly organised by the Assam forest department, and the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) under its Captive Elephant Care (CEC) project. The camp was conducted with support of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

The health camp was spread over a week – from January 7 to 13, 2003. The team comprised Dr NVK Ashraf, programme coordinator, Wild Rescue, Ms Kadambari Mainkar, project assistant, Mr Rathin Barman, Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) manager, Dr Bhaskar Chowdhury, CWRC veterinarian,(all from WTI) and two veterinarians – Dr BK Datta of the Veterinary College, Guwahati, and Dr Sunil Chawla from Help in Suffering, a ongovernmental organisation based in Jaipur.

Data was collected from elephant owners on ownership and animals’ details. Every elephant was assessed for body condition. Individuals were examined for the presence of wounds and abscesses and localised and/or generalised oedema. The feet were examined for evidences of fissures and the extent of erosion in footpads. Toenails were inspected for crack marks. The mucous membrane of all individuals was inspected and so were the eyes for any evidence of blindness and/or corneal opacity. A standard format was followed for collecting all clinical and non-clinical data about every animal. All animals were dewormed. Wounds and abscesses were cleaned and dressed, taking into account the severity of the infection.

The health check-up and implantation of microchips was conducted at six sites – Haldibari East, Haldibari Wast, Mihimukh, Durgamur, Panbari, and Kaziranga Beat. According to Mr Barman, the general condition of the elephants that attended the festival was “good”. Free medicines for the elephants were also distributed to the mahouts during the health camp. Sources said the health camp was one of the prime attractions for so many elephant owners to attend the festival.

Initially, the turnout was expected to be 150, but swelled up gradually, with many elephant owners from Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland also arriving to participate in the festival, particularly to have their animals implanted with microchips. The microchips were brought from the United Kingdom. WTI also put up a stall at the festival grounds to attend any emergency that would arise. Though there were no real emergencies, Mr Barman said, four elephants had to be tranquilised for coming into musth. The WTI team was assisted by local veterinarians from Kohora and Bokakhat.

The Elephant Festival 2003 got off to a colourful start on January 11, 2003, with a procession of about 60 elephants from the Kohora National Highway point to the Mihimukh festival grounds. The elephants were decked up, and so were the mahouts in their vibrant traditional constumes. The Assam government is contemplating making this an annual event initially for three years to make people aware on issues related to human-elephant conflict, with special emphasis on elephant conservation.