PETS, FARM ANIMALS, VEGANISM, WILDLIFE. ELEPHANTS STAND ALONE: 2017

"Forest department rescued an abandoned female elephant calf just around 4 months old from Agali in Palakkad district"-Please read the truth behind this. A wild elephant calf aged approximately 1 1/2 yrs has been rescued from the Tholpetty forest range of the Wyanad Wildlife Sanctuary on last year. The baby had fallen into a trench near a tribal colony. The forest officials say that they tried to reunite the calf with its herd, but the elephants did not accept the calf back as it had come in contact with humans. It is a known fact that elephants recognize their young and accept them back weeks or months or sometimes even years after they have been separated. If a young one gets away from the herd the adults mill about trying to rescue the baby or waiting for it to get back. Even if they move away after some time, they come back within a week or so looking for the baby. In the case of this baby elephant rescue, the baby was shifted to the Muthanga elephant camp within 48 hours. No sustained effort was made to re unite the calf with the herd. Such 'rescues' have been happening much too often for comfort. Some come to the attention of the media and the public, many don't. Let us look at some of the rescues in the recent past. 24 th November 2014 Two elephants wandered out of the forest at Peppara in Trivandrum district- a mother and a male calf of about 1 1/2 years of age. They were not sent back into the forest. Instead, the forest officials said that the mother had injuries and had to be caught for treatment. Both were caught, the mother died, and the male calf was sent to the Konni elephant training camp. He has been named Krishna and is undergoing training to be a good captive elephant to be used in temples and parades and others . What really happened to the mother? What was the nature of her injuries? What treatment did she receive? Was she given inadequate care because an adult female elephant is not of much use as a captive elephant ? June 2015 female calf, 7 months old rescued at Kanjirakolli, Taliparamba. July 2015 Female calf, 6 months old rescued from Manikkadavu, Ulickal, Taliparamba. July 2015 Male calf, 3 year old, from Amba river, Vythiri. October 2015 female calf, 2 year old at Nilambur February 2016 3 month old calf at Kanhirakolly March 2016 male calf 5 months old at Achankovil June 2016 male calf 1 month old at mannarkad in palghat district June 13, 2016 male calf 1.5 year old at Tholppetty,Wayanad. etc.etc.etc. All the calves are taken to the Konni,Muthanga,Kottoor or Kodanad camps. These camps are not sanctuaries, they are elephant training centres and those baby elephants that survive, enter a life of slavery where they are tethered with little free movement. They undergo rigorous training to be captive elephants useful in temples and parades and in the logging industry. Dr. Jijimon, forest vet ( The Hindu August 13 2015) says the the survival rate of calves separated from their mothers before they are weaned is very very poor. Of 18 or so young calves rescued over the past 3 years only 3 have survived! Incidences of calves being rescued after being 'separated from the herd' and ' had come floating down the river' or 'was caught among rocks' and 'was not accepted back by the herd' or 'refused to go back' as claimed by the forest department, is almost one a month. This is something that threatens the very existence of elephants in the wild . Isn't it questionable that the forest department has no strategy to deal with this? There are no dedicated squads made up of persons who have special training in elephant behaviour or the ability to track herds, to deal with this problem and they just grab the babies and rush to attend the next call. Within 48 hours of rescuing, the calves are in the camps. There is no move to make these camps into sanctuaries. Old or ill captive elephants are not confiscated and looked after in these camps. Injured elephant calves and adults, in the wild are not rescued and rehabilitated. Yet at Konni one can see that more and more elephant cages are being built at great expense. The babies that are rescued are all with good physical attributes that are desirable in temple elephants. The babies who survive their first few years are not free and are tethered and caged and undergo rigorous training. One can only assume that the cages are being built for this purpose. The Guruvayur Devaswom recently announced their decision to restart accepting baby elephants upto 10 Yrs of age. The demand for elephants in temples continues even in the midst of arguments about the necessity of elephants in festivals. Capturing of elephants from the wild is banned in Kerala and so is the movement of elephants from and to other states. What better way to fulfil this demand other than 'rescuing' these babies. The nexus is obvious here. Stories of the herd not accepting the calf is unbelievable because that is contrary to elephant behaviour and what is branded as playfulness in the caught calves can only be a confused reaction to a strange environment and the agony of being separated from its mother. Stories are made up to fool the public while elephant owners, temple authorities and the forest officials work hand in hand to create more and more captive elephants to ensure that this huge money making business thrives. It is time we protested against this cruelty committed against these beautiful gentle giants. Our elephants belong to the wild and that is where they should remain. Whether acts of omission or commission, the forest department should be held accountable for these acts of atrocity against our heritage animal.
Posted by SEW - Society for Elephant Welfare on Saturday, June 24, 2017