It's been a long wait! Forest personnel still have no tranquilizers to catch jumbos

Hassan: The forest department has been waiting for the past two years to procure tranquilizers from the international market and with its stock now exhausted, there is a question mark over the rescue operations of elephants conducted especially in human-animal conflict zones such as Sakleshpur in Hassan.

The last time the department procured 10 vials of tranquilizers from United Kingdom based Vet Pharma was in October, 2015 and since then, the officials had conducted rescue operations (translocation) with the available stock of sedatives/revivers.

The department now needs fresh tranquilizers/revivers (Etorphine Hydrochloride and Diprenorphine Hydrochloride) but none of the suppliers within the country and abroad have responded to the requests.

“We used to procure tranquilizers from Vet Pharma but they have not responded to our numerous communications so far. Even, suppliers from China and Singapore have been contacted but nothing has happened,” said an official to Deccan Chronicle on Tuesday.

“We do not know what we will do when we need to tranquilize an elephant with no sedatives/revivers available to dart the animal,” added the official. The sedatives/ revivers are available in South Africa where troublesome jumbos are tranquilized in rescue operations. The officials feel that tranquilizers being narcotic drug, suppliers might be reluctant to supply them.

If the situation demands, forest officials plan to undertake rescue operations of elephants with sedatives (Xyalazine Hydrochloride and Ketamine Hydrochloride) used for darting tigers, leopards, lions, bears and deers. But, capturing a jumbo with tranquilizers used for predators, is a risky affair since the jumbo might suffer from health complications, they added.