The labourious process of shifting the severely ailing Sidda, an injured male elephant which has been recumbent for over two weeks on the banks of the Manchanabele reservoir, to a temporary kraal got off to a cautious start on Wednesday. But, the effort was deferred later in the day.
The challenge was clearly visible as personnel from the Madras Engineer Group and Centre, Bengaluru, Forest Department and veterinarians of Wildlife SOS, an NGO, attempted to lift the elephant.
Sidda has not got up on its own for over 16 days now, and it groaned as the belt tied around its torso was being pulled up by a crane. With no energy to stand up, and pus continuing to ooze from a prominent wound on its foreleg, the task was difficult once its commenced on Wednesday morning.
The elephant was then given rest for a few hours under the shade. A second attempt too yielded no result, and the officials decided to keep the operation on hold till Thursday.
Since Monday, over 42 personnel from the MEG had assembled a 15-ft high structure, which would bear the weight of the elephant strapped through a harness. “This is the same kind of structure we build for bridges in forward or disaster- affected areas. We have never built a kraal before, but this structure acts like one. It can take up to 25 tonnes of load,” said Lt. Colonel P. Ravi, officer in-charge of the MEG task force.
The MEG had been called in on a request from the Wildlife SOS.
On Tuesday evening, the Forest Department had approved the built structure. By shifting Sidda to the structure, he can be propped up by a harness and will allow him to rest on wooden beams.
The position is optimal for further treatment and consumption of food. Villagers, who have been observing the elephant since it was spotted in Manchanabele reservoir with injuries on September 11, says the tusker has lost a lot of weight — as was apparent with the outline of its ribs visible.
