Forest officials keep up efforts to revive ailing jumbo

The frontline staff of the Forest Department on a routine patrol found the female elephant, aged around 10 years battling for life at Vellapathy area on Saturday. The elephant had collapsed a few kilometers away from the forest boundary.

For the second consecutive day, the Forest Department officials tried to revive the elephant by administering it with glucose and medicine. “It was given about 26 bottles of glucose, antibiotics and multi-vitamin tablets. The jumbo has shown some signs of improvement, but still remains weak and couldn’t stand up on its feet,” said a Forest Department official.

The animal has been starving and is also unable to consume food. “The exact cause of its ailment is not known,” he added.

A team led by forest veterinary officer A Sugumar has been treating the animal under the supervision of District Forest Officer D Venkatesh.

Since January, about 16 elephants have lost their lives in Coimbatore forest division due to various reasons. Due to a spate in the number of jumbo deaths, the state government has already constituted an expert committee to investigate the cause of their deaths.