Elephant Stays In Water More Than A Day In Kodagu, Vets To Examine It
Forest officials and veterinarians will assess the condition of the elephant in water and decide on what needs to be done.
Bengaluru : A elephant estimated to be 35 years has been circling in water of a farm pond for more than day at Devarapura under Thittimati range of Kodagu and suspected the reason for the elephant preferring to stay in water is said to be over its health issues or when it is nearing its end. However, veterinarians will assess the condition of the elephant in water and decide on what needs to be done.
RFO Gangadhar told Deccan Chronicle on Wednesday “We don’t know the exact reason but it could be over health issues in the animal or when it is nearing its end. We have seen it in the wild.”
Observing the elephant in water, the RFO said “It is doing circles in the farm pond having a depth of about12-feet and once in a while it puts its legs out on the edge of the farm pond and returns to water but not at all coming out.” He said it is common for elephants to stay in water sometimes for two-days. But, locals and animal lovers worry over its stay in the water for a long time now. Veterinarians arrive at the spot to take note of the condition of the elephant.
A wildlife biologist scientist stated elephants enter and prefer to stay in water when they are injured in their legs or when ill and he recalled a wild elephant was injured in a road accident and it stayed in water in an incident near Magadi of Ramnagar.
“Elephant stay in water for buoyancy,” he stated but said he was unaware of the condition of the elephants in water at Thittimatti.
The wildlife biologist pointed to other instances wherein elephants prefer to stay in water especially when they are driven away by farmers on finding elephant herds raiding crops in fields. Elephants stay in the water of lakes for about 9 hours during the day and after the onset of dusk these elephants enter fields to feast on crops.
