KALAIGAON, July 13 - A wild elephant which was battling for life with serious injuries at no. 1 Borongabari village under Harisinga Revenue Circle in Udalguri district since July 10 finally succumbed to its injuries at 4.30 pm on Thursday.
Hundreds of villagers, mostly women, had been visiting the ailing animal with prayers and good wishes for its speedy recovery and this has been widely discussed in the social media. The love and respect showed to an injured wild elephant proved that humanity still prevails.
The incident is worth mentioning as Udalguri district has been severely affected by man-elephant conflict since last ten years with deaths of more than 100 human being and nearly 50 wild elephants.
According to information, a 20-year-old wild makhna was found walking unsteady in no.1 Borongabari village at 6 am on July 10. The elephant fell to the ground just after walking a few metres. Forest personnel from Dhansiri Forest Division, Udalguri arrived at the spot at 7.30 am before preliminary treatment was given by local veterinary doctors. More veterinary treatment was arranged on July 11 morning, but the condition of the animal deteriorated. When this correspondent arrived at the spot in the afternoon, it was seen that hundreds of village people, mostly women, offering prayers for its recovery standing by its side.
Chitta Ranjan Deka, local VDP secretary told this correspondent that they had offered jack fruits, pumpkin etc., to the elephant the day before and it could eat food and water. According to Bolen Deka, another villager, the wild elephant was seen moving around with a wild herd for some days and it could have been hit hard on head by some other wild elephant of the herd before its expulsion from the herd. The elephant had severe cut marks on its trunk. Padumi Deka, a village woman said that they were praying for the animal since the previous day.
According to MK Sarma, DFO, Dhansiri Forest Division, Udalguri, a team of veterinary experts headed by Dr KK Sarma, HoD, Department of Surgery, Assam Veterinary College Khanapara, Guwahati along with Dr Bhaskar Choudhury and Dr Samsul Haque of WTI tried hard to save the elephant. But unfortunately, the poor animal succumbed to its grievous injuries. According to attending veterinarian, the elephant was injured seriously by other wild elephants.
