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| Sunday, 28 August 2005 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Jumbos' day out
This rest and restoration camp for domestic elephants was organised at Theppakkadu within the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary in an area known as Nilgiris. It is spread over an area of 12.2 acres and could accommodate about 55 elephants. Thirty seven of these elephants belonged to temples, while the other 18 were privately owned. They were brought from various parts of Tamil Nadu. The camp offered various attractions for the elephants through a carefully prepared plan. The daily programme began at 5.45am with the cleaning of the elephants' resting places and massaging their legs and tusks with oil.
The elephants that participated in the camp were in the age group of 5 to 54. Their health status was monitored daily by a team of veterinarians and health cards denoting their health status issued. Special attention was provided to the weaker pachyderms. As security measures, a solar fence, watch towers and guards were employed. The event was witnessed by a large number of local and foreign tourists.
They think such camps should be organised at least once a year. Apart from the therapeutic and calming effects it has on the elephants, and being able to take a break from their heavy work loads, they say that humans would also be able to get a better understanding of these gentle giants by observing their behaviour at such camps. |
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| Politics | Produced by Lake House |
We recently wrote about a camp for dogs in the city of Bogota in
Colombia. Camps for animals is nothing new in some parts of the world. Our
neighbouring country India also had its own animal camp, for elephants,
recently. 
As food, each jumbo was provided with five kilos of rice, two kilos of
horse gram, protein enriched ayurvedic tonics and a liquid medicine to
take care of any liver disorders. Green fodder was also provided in buffet
style for the animals to choose from. 
Elephant specialists in India believe that there should be more of such
camps without confining this to a one-off affair. 
