Treatment eludes injured tusker in Odisha forest

Odisha Channel Bureau Angul, July 10: An injured tusker in a bad condition is wandering in Bolanga forest areas on the boarders of Angul and Satkosia forest divison for the last one month.If not treated properly it will succumb to the injury like one in Rodanga jungle under Kamakhyanagar range areas under Dhenkanal forest Division two months ago.The female elephant there who got multiple injuries finally died without peoper medicare and sheer negligence by forest officials amid tug of war between keonjhar and Dhenkanal forest disvisons on their jurisdiction.According to forest department sources, the injured tusker, aged about 30 years, is having deep wound on the front left leg for over a month.But it still is moving in that area for which no proper treatment can be given to it.Animal lovers suspect it as an act of poachers who fired shots at the tusker.The bullets instead of hitting head missed the target and injured the elephant on its leg, they feel.Ruling out any gun shot wound official sources, however, said that the tusker may have sustained injuries due to fight with another tusker who also got injured in his back leg but was cured by now.So far, there has been no proper treatment of the badly inured trusker that is becoming weak day by day and it is feared that in the rainy days the wound be compounded beyond cure.On Tuesday, according forest department information, a team of veterinary doctors from Angul and Nandankanan reached the spot and traced the inured animal.They also administered some sort of treatments to it but refrained from tranquilising.It kept on running when doctors attempted to give injections from a distance.“We are keeping a watch on the movement of the injured animal and treatment is being given to it.Proper treatment can not be given to it as its is moving away when there is an attmept to inject medicine to it.Still some antibiotics and other medicines have been given to it,” said Pandab Behera, Regional Chief Conservator of Forest (RCCF) of Angul circle.“Now we fear that rainy days have come and unless it is properly treated then he may succumb.The animal has a wound on his front leg presumably by fight with another tusker.We are ruling out any poaching attempt by gunshot as the poachers might have fired to his head instead of leg,” he added.The RCCF also said he had informed his higher authorities about the matter.