Elephant calf, boar hurt after biting bombs in 2 spots

Information about the injured calf reached forest personnel on Thursday. On Friday efforts were still on to spot the animal, for treatment. Earlier in July this year a two-year-old calf that suffered a injury after biting a country made bomb suffered for a couple of weeks without treatment in the Thadagam valley. Forest officials said that a few years ago farmers used such bombs as bait to kill wild boars. The bomb usually sealed in a ball of corn flour explodes when an animal bite it. Sadly, it also attracts jumbos. 

“For a wild boar, it is a painful instant death. But when a jumbo bites it, its oral cavity is damaged beyond repair,” says wildlife activist M Siva who took the incidents to the notice of the forest department. A senior forest department officer also told DTNext that the chance of survival for the injured eight-year-old calf was remote. 

“We have not spotted the animal. But pictures and videos of the available with the department staff shows that its mouth is badly injured and swollen.” A team of 22 forest department personnel led by Periyanaickenpalayam Forest Range Officer C. Palaniraja were on the lookout for the calf. 

Meanwhile with hope that the ailing animal could be treated remotely (till it was spotted), veterinarians have kept banana and jackfruit stuffed with medicines and mixed medicines in waterholes where the animal was found moving, at Kovanur. 

Meanwhile forest department arrested four persons in the Gudalur Kavundampalayam area after they were reportedly caught red handed while hunting a wild boar using avuttukai. A boar with a badly damaged head (as it had bit a country-made bomb) and six new bombs were seized from them. It is suspected that they could be responsible for jumbo calf’s injury. 

“A compounded fine of Rs 45,000 was also recovered from them,” a department officer said and added that the accused were handed over to the police, who registered a case under the Arms Act.