rescued elephant dies

On Friday, locals and forest officials had a hard time separating the calf, from it's mother.

The little one kept nudging the mother's body from all sides, to awaken it, trumpeting loudly.

It refused to allow officials to take it's mother for autopsy.

Times of India,   November 30, 2018.  

hospital for elephants

Farah  - Mathura:
The vision of the two rescued elephants and their foot injures will be treated at India's first hospital, built exclusively for elephants.

Like with all captive animals, years of abuse has left them with injuries - both physical and psychological.

The new facility set up by NGO Wildlife SOS, in collaboration with Uttar Pradesh forest department, aims to provide medical care to all such rescued elephants.

- Times Of India,    November 17, 2018. 

Calf stands by

For a day and a half, an elephant alf stood by it's mother.
She was stuck in the mud.
She had injured her left fore-leg, a few days ago.
The little one budged only when fores authorities rescued her on Tuesday evening.  .

Elephant stuck in mud
Times Of India   Chennai,  November 28, 2018. page 15
  

autopsy confirms electrocution

Officials conducted post-mortem and confirmed that the jumbos died of electric shock.
Loosely hanging high tension wires carry power to Kayathar from lower camp.
TANGEDCO officials are yet to respond.
One elephant was aged between 7 and 9 years, the other was between 10 and 12 years.

2 elephants electrocuted at Meghamalai forest 
Times Of India   November 28, 2018

Thorny tree species

Elephants were starving at Annamalai Tiger Resreve due to infestation of thorny tree species.

Nattu Karuvel, Odai Vel, Kudai Vela Maram and Seemai Karuvelam - all imported from Africa and America.

They were not food for elephants and wildlife, and they hurt the animals.

- Jumbo crisis in Dindigul district    
Deccan Chronicle   November 4, 2018.

HC directive to wildlife bureau

Madurai bench has directed the Crime Control Bureau under the environment ministry to look into elephant deaths based on a petition alleging conspiracy  behind the deaths - that are being dubbed as by electrocution.

Petitioner con tended that the deaths of 2 elephants in Meghamalai was due to illegal poaching, on which the officials did not take action. Court also sought reports from TANGEDCO and Meghamalai wildlife warden in response to the petition.

Times of India
November 2, 2018.

Buffer zones became patta lands

S Ramakrishnan, Asst. Prof. of wildlife biology and member of Tamilnadu Wildlife Board said,

"Villagers have extended their farm lands right to the boundary of forest areas. Earlier there used to be buffer zones between private and forest land. This helped keep a distance between humans and wildlife. Previously, every village in Nilgiris was flanked by social forests on revenue land, where trees and bushes were planted. In the past 20 years, social forests have vanished in the name of pattas to beneficiaries. Later they became human colonies.  Nilgiris cannot be compared to any other distract. State administration must formulate land-specific, terrain-specific and species- specific policies to address the issue."

Forests must be greener  - South Pole
Shantha Thiagarajan    Times of India,   October 31, 2018