Injured elephant’s condition worsens

Serious condition of she-elephant in Palakkad suspected to be hit by train, receiving treatment from forest veterinarians.

The condition of the she-elephant suspected to have been hit by a train while crossing the tracks at Kottekkad, near Malampuzha, in Palakkad Forest Division continued to be serious. The elephant, presumed to be 35 years old, was in a bad condition when a five-member team of forest veterinarians attended to it on Friday evening.

The elephant was found limping two days ago and a train hit was the immediate assumption.

However, the vets and forest officers who examined the animal ruled out the chances of a direct hit by a train.

“There should be at least some external injuries if it’s a train hit case. Maybe the elephant tripped and fell down while crossing the tracks. The injuries are internal and severe,” said Palakkad Divisional Forest Officer Joseph Thomas.

The forest staff drove the elephant to a waterhole in the vicinity, where it was lying down on Friday evening. Attempts by the forest team to help the animal stand up using slings and administer pain-killers failed.

“We still can’t say what exactly happened to it. We are doing our best to help the animal. But its condition is deteriorating,” said Mr. Thomas.

Meanwhile, Haridas Machingal, president of the district Elephant Lovers Forum, blamed the forest authorities for not capturing the elephant and treating it. In a memorandum to the Chief Wildlife Warden, Mr. Machingal alleged that the Forest department had failed to act properly.