Elephant Lalitha brought to temple, falls sick

A 56-year-old female elephant, Lalitha, under private maintenance, brought to a temple festival on Jan. 02, fell sick and was lying in recumbent posture. A team of veterinary doctors was attending to the pachyderm. The animal, which is kept in Rajapalayam, was brought in a truck to the temple for the Vaikunda Ekadasi festival. However, upon being unloaded from the truck, the elephant laid down on the ground and did not respond to the mahout’s call. “Our team of veterinary doctors attended to her. We have treated her with 25 bottles of glucose and some intravenous solutions,” said Joint Director of Animal Husbandry (Virudhunagar district) Dr. A. Koilrajan. However the elephant is not ready to stand on its feet. Further treatment and investigation is going on.