Kaziranga National Park, 22^nd August 2020:

Pix @Subhamoy Bhattacharjee/WTI

On 2^nd August 2020 it was a sunny morning and I was washing my field gears in preparation for another long day of flood rescues when I received a phone call from Kaziranga Park Authority that a young rhino separated from its mother was wandering alone at Teteliguree under Kohora Range. Soon after getting the phone call, I stopped my household chores, skipped breakfast but drank the glass of water brought lovingly bymy wife and pocketed a handkerchief from my cute daughter before heading towards the rescue site. At the same time, I also called my colleague Subhamoy Bhattacharjee to accompany me. Both of us along with animal keepers Lakhiram Das and Romen Das reached Kohora Mihimukh and waited for a while. A Forest team of Park Authority came in a motorized speedboat with a cute little baby rhino. I could see approximately 15 cm of umbilical cord attached to it and the rhino looked very stressed and helpless. Immediately I administered First-Aid treatment and informed Mr. Piraisoodan B (I/C Range officer Kohora) that it’s a day old baby which requires intensive care. I also advised him to keep an eye on the rescued site for the mother rhino to be re-united with the calf if she is spotted.

We shifted the baby to WTI-IFAW-AFD Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation for stabilization.  Dr. Rathin Barman, Head of the Rehabilitation Centre along with Mr. Piraisoodan B were also headed to the where the rhino calf had been found to try and locate the mother, their efforts to locate the mother rhino were however unsuccessful that day. Once the baby rhino reached CWRC, it was introduced to our special milk formula for the nursing and care this new born calf needed. We gave 24×7 effort in the care and treatment to give it a second chance of survival and for preparing it for its journey back to the wild.

Pix @IFAW/WTI

Later that day, Mr. P Sivakumar, Park Director Kaziranga National Park visited our rehabilitation centre to take stock of baby rhino and after seeing the condition of baby he ask me “What will be the age of baby rescued rhino and will it be possible to give him second chance of life?” I mentioned that it’s a day old rhino and we are not sure if it has received colostrum from mother and hence it will be a big challenge for us to make him survive. Je wished the WTI – IFAW – AFD CWRC team the best and bade us well for our efforts.

Pix @IFAW/WTI

The very next day we screened the baby and found it healthy, and hence, started bottle feeding it normally in our care till one week.  The umbilical cord detached itself by the 6^th day in our care and during his 24×7 care he was observed to enjoy the company of our animal keeper. Unfortunately, on the 9^th of Aug’2020 he got severe watery diarrhoea. Following urgent consultations with our senior colleague Dr. Bhaskar Choudhary (Head Vet, WTI-IFAW-AFD CWRC) by myself and Dr. Samshul Ali, were done and we we started the course of treatment dividing the day and night shifts between us for a week trying to stem the diarrhoea. The whole of this week was very tiring for both of us attending to rescue calls from sunrise, only being able to return back well after sunset. Even while tending to this baby rhino, we had to rescue another rhino calf separated from its mother in the same forest range of the park from where the first baby was found. The prognosis of this second rhino was grim, having severe dehydration, anaemia, anorexia and posterior paralysis. Sadly, it could not respond to the treatment and succumbed within 72 hrs.

Pix @IFAW/WTI

Within a week of palliative care this baby rhino had become a bit stable and was feeding normally. However, a second bout of diarrhoea struck within a week and it was defecating almost 30 times in a day. We immediately undertook a longer course of treatment to stabilize it for the longer run.

Every moment of handling newly arrived wild species is a learning and teaches us a lot. Administering even a single injection is difficult as we do not get any cooperation from these distressed animals. Regardless, I managed to give it every possible treatment and care in which our dedicated animal keepers Mr. Hareswar Das and Tarun Gogoi contributed a lot.

Pix @IFAW/WTI

After giving 14 days of necessary treatment and care I could see it in sound health and with good appetite.  I took the utmost care in each and every moment of its stay at our centre. On 6^th Sept’2020 I informed the DFO Kaziranga Mr. Ramesh Kumar Gogoi that the baby rhino has recovered well. He said that it’s a great achievement for us. I could happily share that this baby rhino is the youngest one that I handled in my service life. Seeing it’s improving health condition, I discharged the baby rhino from my care and now it is enjoying with other healthy rhino calves within the IFAW – WTI- AFD CWRC premises. I will be the happiest vet if this adorable little baby feels comfortable under our care and eventually returns back to wild in due course of time to contribute its role in our ecosystem.

Since the past decade of working as a wildlife vet for Wildlife Trust of India, North East, I have attended over 2000 individual wild animals belonging to over 200 species. And among those individuals, I came across 26 number of orphaned Greater One-horned Rhino calves at WTI – IFAW – AFD Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation, Kaziranga National Park since last five years. Out of those individuals, we could successfully hand-raise above 90% of them, most of which are rehabilitated into the wild, thereby contributing their healthy genes to the ecosystem.

Pix @Tarun Gogoi/WTI

–  Dr. Panjit Basumatary, author of the article, is Wildlife veterinarian and Manager, Wildlife trust of India. He loves healthy living and works out in his free time.

He can be reached at panjit@wti.org.in