A total of six elephant calves, which were under observation at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), Panbari inside Kaziranga National Park, for rehabilitation after being rescued from different locations in Assam, were being translocated to Manas National Park on Tuesday.
The veterinarians of the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) at Panbari were taking care of the elephant calves at the centre.
Of the six elephant calves, two were rescued from Bodoland Territorial Areas District (BTAD) in 2014 and 2015, one was rescued from Dhemaji district in 2012, two were rescued from Karbi Anglong district including one in 2013 and the other was rescued from Sonitpur district of the State and all of the six taken to the CWRC, Panbari.
After long years of caring, all the six elephant calves were sent to Manas National Park in three trucks on Tuesday afternoon.
The elephant calves were translocated from Kaziranga National Park (KNP) to Manas National Park (MNP) at the initiative of the authorities of KNP, MNP and the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), which jointly runs the CWRC with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).
A team led by WTI’s senior veterinarian Dr Bhaskar Choudhury has also left for Manas National Park along with the elephant calves. The other members of the team include veterinarian Dr Pranjit Basumatary, KNP’s departmental veterinarian Dr Debabrat Phukan and MNP’s veterinarian Dr Prabhat Basumatary. Besides, a team of animal keepers under the leadership of Dr Daoharu Boro has also left for MNP along with the elephant calves.
The elephant calves after they reach MNP on March 21, 2018 will be kept in a temporarily elephant kraal. To observe the movements of the elephant calves, radio chips would be used on them.
“After six months of observation if everything remains alright, the elephant calves would be released in the Manas National Park,” informed Dr Bhaskar Choudhury.
Till date, from the CWRC at Kaziranga, a total of 15 rhinos, 36 deer and 20 elephants have been translocated to Manas National Park.