Tusker Trapped in Canal Since Sunday Rescued in Mandya
After rescue, veterinarians treated the jumbo before the tusker was back on its feet to make its way back to the forests
BENGALURU: A tusker, aged 13 years, trapped in a canal of about 150-meters in length since Sunday of a power generation station in Shivanasamudra of Malavalli taluk of Mandya district was rescued on Tuesday in a coordinated effort by forest officials, veterinarians and Mandya district administration. However, the rescued jumbo will be under constant monitoring using a drone for about a month to know its health condition.
After rescue, veterinarians treated the jumbo before the tusker was back on its feet to make its way back to the forests. The rescued jumbo was found to be in good health except for moisture content in its legs and its trunk since it remained in water since Sunday. “The moisture content in jumbo’s legs and trunk will disappear in a couple of days,” a veterinarian Ramesh from Nagarhole Tiger Reserve stated over the rescue operation.
“Darting a jumbo especially when in water posed risk since water could enter its truck and mouth of the sedated tusker. We made sure the trunk is lifted as soon as the jumbo was sedated while a structure was made to stop water from flowing to sedated jumbo’s mouth,” said the wildlife veterinarian.
The tusker slipped into the 70-feet canal after it went to quench its thirst and the sloppy terrain made the tusker slip into the canal through one of the gates of a power generation station. The canal was closed from either side which made the jumbo remain in water since Sunday.
One side it was gates of the power generation station and other side led to the turbine of the power generation station and the jumbo had no route to escape. “We planned for darting the trapped jumbo with no other option,” said a veterinarian engaged in the rescue operation.
To help forest personnel in their rescue operation, an infrastructure company in Bengaluru sent one of its cranes used in the construction of high rise structures to lift the trapped jumbo out of the canal. To ensure jumbo is safe in the canal, water flow to the canal from reservoirs such as Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS), Kabini and from power generation stations were reduced.
