Forest dept of Karnataka cautious after elephant deaths

The forest department is cautious following the deaths of three elephants in Byilorge range in BRT wildlife sanctuary and an equal number in Satyamanagalam range in Tamil Nadu due to haemorrhagic septicaemia.

Department officials said combing operation was under way in BRT to find any ailing or deceased animal. Vaccination of cattle in the fringes of the forest areas have also commenced.

The operation was being done with the help of the state health department. This is being done as the department could not completely curtail the grazing of cattle inside national parks and sanctuaries.

The last vaccination of cattle in the fringes of BRT was done in June at a cost of about Rs1 lakh, when the cattle were vaccinated for foot, mouth and booster diseases along with other ailments.

The officials said that staff was being deployed to track wild elephants to ascertain if they were infected or ailing. As a precautionary step, additional staff would be deployed in all forest areas of BRT.

In BRT, measures are being taken to disinfect water holes by adding calcium chloride as no chemicals could be added in forest areas. Since the area houses streams, water is flowing and not stagnant which reduces the probability of the presence of bacteria.

Talks are on with the forest department officials in Tamil Nadu regarding vaccination and migration of pachyderms.