Lack of budget has hampered timely treatment of the tusker, which had clinched second place in the Elephant Beauty Contest held at the national park in 2011, say concerned officials.
Loktantrakali and three other tuskers infected with tuberculosis have just been shifted to Sauraha for treatment from the Elephant Breeding Center at the national park, while another elephant owned by the park still awaits treatment, says veterinary doctor at the park, Kamal Gaire.[break]
Ten other privately owned tuskers, which had contracted TB at the breeding center, have, however, duly received treatment.
Now that Loktantrakali has been brought to Sauraha for treatment, she is creating a new scene: She just doesn´t like the taste of the medicine.
“She doesn´t like the medicine, probably because of its peculiar smell. As soon as we feed her the medicine, she pukes,” whines Ram Chandra Chaudhary, the mahout.
An elephant is a smart animal with a very strong sense of smell.
It´s not just Loktantrakali that is throwing tantrums here. The other tuskers also are giving a tough time to the vets, mahouts and others caring for them.
As the affected elephants have to be put under medication for a whole year - just like in the case of humans - and as it is very difficult to force-feed these huge animals, the vets are planning to switch to a costlier medicine which can be injected through the rectum.
“Treatment through oral solutions costs around Rs 300,000 per elephant,” says Dr Gaire. “However, we need to spend 100,000 more on each if the medicine has to be administer through the rectum,” he adds.
Around 60 elephants owned by the national park have contracted TB in recent years and dozens of them are still under medication.
Besides the tuskers at Chitwan National Park, five others at Parsa Wildlife Reserve and two at Koshi Tapu Wildlife Reserve have also been diagnosed with tuberculosis.
According to Chitwan National Park spokesperson Tikaram Poudel, three dozen tuskers have contracted tuberculosis across the country since this disease was first detected at the CNP back in 2000.
Elephant Care Center, an international organization, has been assisting in the treatment of the sick animals.
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