‘Elephant Cheran injured by mahout’s assistant receiving treatment’

The elephant is believed to have sustained the injury two months ago at the hands of a ‘kaavadi’ (assistant to the mahout), for not obeying his commands.

Forest Department staff are treating the captive elephant, Cheran, whose eye was injured by a staff tasked with caring for the elephant recently. The elephant is believed to have sustained the injury two months ago at the hands of a ‘kaavadi’ (assistant to the mahout), for not obeying his commands. The animal had already had impaired vision in the other eye. The most recent injury it was feared, would affect his quality of life even further. Following the incident, the Forest Department brought in specialist veterinarians from the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS), to ascertain the extent of the injury to the animal’s left eye.