Sonpur: For the fifth consecutive year, a health camp for captive elephants was organized by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) in partnership with the Bihar Forest Department at Sonpur in Bihar. Between 12th and 16th November, captive elephants from the northern and eastern Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Assam were brought to the five-day long mela.

A three-member team from the Wild Rescue Programme of WTI, comprising Dr. N.V.K Ashraf, Director Wild Rescue, Kadambari Mainkar, Programme Officer, and Dr. Bhaskar Choudhary, Wildlife Veterinarian administered the health camps along with the Bihar Forest Department.

Senenty-seven elephants have undergone health check this year at the health camp. In 2001, 91 elephants underwent health checks, in 2002, the number dropped to 77, in 2003, it further declined to 56, and in 2004, it was 67. About 70 elephants were provided with reflectors that would help save them from vehicle hits in the dark.

Bihar Forest Department had initiated micro-chipping captive elephants in 2004. “Micro-chipping involves implanting of a chip in the left side of the neck (below the left ear), wherein the animal is given a unique code for identification,” explained Dr Ashraf. The code given to a particular animal is nonreplicable and the biological characteristics and the animal’s health is recorded in the form of a database against the given code for future reference. The chip also provides a distinct identity to the animal, which proscribes buying and selling of the animal.

Various physiological and biological aspects of the elephants were examined, such as presence of wounds, abscesses, generalized or localized oedema, evidences of fissures, crack marks in toenails, blindness or corneal opacity and the extent of erosion in the footpads. All animals were dewormed.

The health camp for captive elephants is organized annually at Sonpur mela by WTI, under the Captive Elephant Care (CEC) project in partnership with the State Forest Department and with support from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). The main objective of the programme is to examine the health status of the elephants. In addition to captive elephants, hundreds of livestock were brought to this year’s Sonpur mela in Bihar.

Sonpur mela is organized with the commencement of the Kartik Purnima, a full moon in the Hindu lunar calendar every year. It is considered one of the largest livestock mela in Asia, where thousands of visitors including tourists and buyers from different parts of the country participate. Domestic animals such as camels, buffaloes, dogs, cows, rabbits, guinea pig, and poultry are traded during the fair. The captive elephants that assemble in the mela remain the prime attraction for the visitors.

Pix credit: Kadambari / Ashraf / WTI