DALTONGANJ: A team of vet personnel from Birsa Biological Park of Ormanjhi will visit the Palamu Tiger Reserve on Sunday to tranquilize an injured elephant with gun shots, which, if delayed, would debilitate the pachyderm permanently.
A female elephant received serious injuries in its right foreleg few days ago and on Saturday it was seen limping its way ahead in the buffer area of the reserve.
Confirming the development, DFO (buffer) A K Mishra said an attempt will be made to tranquilize the wounded elephant after taking its shape, size and height into account.
The festering wound has almost incapacitated the elephant, he added.
Strangely the reserve that was set up in 1974 lacks trained vet officials who could carry out the operation without seeking help from outside.
Asked if this elephant could be sedated by mixing potions in its food, Mishra said, “Impossible. Elephants do not eat grams of food but in hefty kilograms. No sedative potion will suffice’.
Efforts are on to restrict this elephant to compartment 9 so that when the vet team arrives here on Sunday it does not have to struggle to trace the injured animal. “If the vet team says that the wounded elephant has no chance recovery then in that case it will be spared the pain of a tranquilizing dart.”