Tags: Elephants , Rescue Centre , Tiruchirappalli

Tiruchirappalli : Ailing and old elephants in the wild and those in temples will now have a place to rest and nutritious diet on hand with the proposed rescue and rehabilitation centre for jumbos coming up on a zoological park near here.

A proposal in this regard has been sent to Tamil Nadu government to segregate an area of about 50 acres within a 300 acre zoological park coming up in the reserved forests of M R Palayam near TiruchirappalliChennai National Highways, Ramachandra Pathi, Conservator of Forests, Tiruchi,told PTI.

He said the centre would maintain natural ambience with flora and fauna and adequate water resources for bathing for elephants would be created by digging a large pond within the designated area.

The centre could house about ten animals at any given time and the Jumbos could be imparted intensive health care along with nutritious diet. Facilities would be created to impart appropriate training to mahouts on health care nuances of the animal,the officials said.

A jungle stream, sugarcane cultivation and planting coconut saplings within the area would also supplement the healthy ambience for the Jumbos,he said.

District Forest Officer D Mani said there were about 4000 wild elephants in forest ranges like Mudumalai and Anaimalai.

The approximate numbers of captive elephants coming under the category of domestic elephants could be 200 as owned by individuals and various temples across the country.

Although rejuvenating camps are held every year in Mudumalai sanctuary, domestic elephants require regular care and maintenance which individual owners would not be able to provide,Mani said.

Citing an example, he said an elephant at Sri Maariamman Temple at Samayapuram near Tiruchirappalli had gone wild and the temple authorities found it difficult to maintain it under lock and key.'Further aged elephants crossing 50 years are not allowed to do any labourious tasks and maintenance is rather different from other young jumbos,'he said.

The proposed park, to be jointly developed by the state forest department and Central Zoo Authority, will house about 500 animals of 35 species that include spotted deer, hyena, Indian gaur, jackal, panther, lion, jaguar, peacock, aquatic birds, swamp birds, marine birds, monkey, fox, sloth bear and reptiles.

A comprehensive master plan for long term maintenance of the park had also been forwarded to the CZA. It includes proposals such as setting up isolation wards for treating animals, a disaster management scheme to evacuate animals in case of emergencies and 'electronic beat security patrolling system'.

The total outlay for setting up the park is Rs.59 crore.

'The park also aims at bringing different species of birds and animals from other parts of the country to make it an exciting experience for visitors. Currently the reserve forest area in M R Palayam acts as an habitat to deer, fox, boars, monkeys and peacocks,' Ramanchandra Pathi said.

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