Kaziranga NP (Assam): An abandoned two-month old male elephant calf was rescued from the Agoratoli range of Kaziranga National Park by the forest department staff yesterday. The calf, suspected to have been abandoned due to an injury, was transferred to Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) for treatment and care.

“The elephant was found alone near Pahumari camp by the forest guards,” said Prasanta Boro, veterinarian of the Mobile Veterinary Service (MVS) in Central Assam.

The calf was brought to the CWRC after initial attempt to reunite it with its herd, bore no success. “Extensive efforts were made to reunite the abandoned calf with his herd immediately after the rescue. Judging from his condition, we believe that the calf must have been abandoned about two days before. When the calf could not be reunited to his natal herd, the officials from the forest department contacted us for keeping it in CWRC,” said Boro.

“The calf had problems walking due to an inflammation on its right elbow,” Boro said, talking of the possible reason for abandonment.

Phulmoni Gogoi, veterinarian at CWRC said, “When the calf reached here, we administered him with electrolyte orally to combat dehydration. He is under observation now. One positive development is that he has adjusted to bottle-feeding quickly and has been drinking milk provided by us.”

The CWRC, a joint venture of the Assam Forest Department, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and its partner International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has rescued 18 elephant calves in addition to other endangered animals like the greater one-horned rhinoceros and the Royal Bengal tiger since its initiation in 2002.

In February, 2008, two elephant calves rescued as orphans and hand-reared at CWRC were relocated to Manas National Park for rehabilitation. They are undergoing acclimatisation in Doimari in Manas and will be released into the wild following the “soft-release” protocol for hand-reared elephants. Three of the six calves relocated earlier in February 2007, have been reintegrated into the wild.