: The forest department is keeping close watch on an an adult female elephant that fell ill at Periya Thadagam here on Wednesday.
A department official said that they could not ascertain the reason for its ailment.
Wildlife veterinarian N.S. Manoharan was treating the animal in the presence of the District Forest Officer (DFO) and wildlife activists. District Forest Officer (DFO) S. Ramasubramanian told reporters that the elephant was about 35-year-old and was part of a herd of six that were moving around the foothills of Anuvavi Murugan temple.
“It was exhausted as it’s repeated to attempts for hours together to stand went in vain,” the DFO said.
The elephant was first given jaggery, glucose and salt for instant energy, bananas and sugarcane for which it for which it respond positively.
With the temperature going up it started struggling and a fire tender was roped in to spray water on the jumbo. As the animal could still not stand up till the late in the evening Kumki Pari and an earth mover were also roped in to lift the elephant.
