(in): Baby 'Tragedy' lives on to battle the 'Killer Steel Monster'

[Guest guest]

Very unfortunate!!

 

Not looking to the NGOs or animal activist every time, will the political

leaders of India & so called Bureaucrats will take care to prevent this type of

unfortunate incidence in future.

 

Or will wait for another corporate house to come forward with a campaign to say

1410 Indian elephants left.... this and that....!!! ???

 

Dr. Sashanka

 

 

 

----------

Dr. Sashanka S. Dutta 

Chief Functionary - JBF(Just Be Friendly)

Co-opted Member - Animal Welfare Board of India

(Ministry of Environment & Forests)

New Delhi - India.

 

 

 

**** I am associated with JBF (Just Be Friendly), an endeavor to build a society

that enables better life for animals and creates better living conditions for

human. To know more, please visit JBF at www.jbfcharity.org    Thanks.

 

 

--- On Fri, 26/3/10, azam24x7 <azam24x7 wrote:

 

 

azam24x7 <azam24x7

(in): Baby 'Tragedy' lives on to battle the 'Killer Steel

Monster'

" AAPN List " <aapn >

Friday, 26 March, 2010, 6:46

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.hindusta ntimes.com/ rssfeed/guwahati /Born-after- train-hit-

mother-baby- elephant- dies-in-Assam- zoo/Article1- 523206.aspx

<http://www.hindusta ntimes.com/ rssfeed/guwahati /Born-after- train-hit-

mother-baby- elephant- dies-in-Assam- zoo/Article1- 523206.aspx>

Born after train hit mother, baby elephant dies in Assam zoo

 

*Rahul Karmakar <http://www.hindusta ntimes.com/ Search/Rahul- Karmakar. aspx>,

Hindustan Times*

Guwahati, March 25, 201

 

A speeding goods train ejected him from his mother's womb prematurely on

February 28. Less than a month later - and 10 days after his mother was

prescribed euthanasia - the baby elephant died of enteritis.

 

Wildlife enthusiasts had been following the condition of the 'nameless' male

calf on Facebook and Twitter. Its death in the Assam State Zoo on Wednesday

night made them zero in on Baby Tragedy.

 

" Dame Daphne Sheldrick of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya has

suggested this name to possibly highlight the plight of elephants in India

vis-à-vis killer railway tracks, " said Azam Siddiqui, master trainer in

animal welfare.

 

The elephant calf was born seconds after a goods train hit two female

elephants on a track skirting the Deepor Beel Bird Sanctuary on the western

fringes of Assam's capital. Herds of elephants come down regularly from the

adjoining Rani Reserve Forest - on the other side of the track - to bathe

and feed on aquatic plants in Deepor Beel, a wetland.

 

One of the elephants died on the spot. The impact made the other deliver

beside the track before limping back into the forest. The incident happened

around 3 am, almost six hours after Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and forest

officials warned Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) authorities about the

movement of a herd.

 

NFR, WTI and Assam Forest Department got together in 2008 to start a

coordination project to " mitigate elephant mortality due to train hits in

Assam " . It entailed joint patrolling on 16 elephant corridors across the

State and educating locomotive drivers.

 

" There's hardly any cooperation from NFR, and warnings are not heeded, as

was the case on February 28, " said a WTI coordinator. NFR's running staff

put the onus on higher officials, claiming they are not told how to go about

the 'mitigation business'.

 

Zoo DFO Narayan Mahanta said the calf was barely surviving when it was

brought to the zoo hours after the train-hit. " We tried our best to ensure

its survival, and its vulnerability was possibly due to the impact of the

train-hit, " he said.

 

While the baby was battling death in the zoo veterinary unit, its mother

collapsed near Sattargaon, a village close to Assam's border with Meghalaya.

" The elephant was in great pain when the villagers reported her on March 10.

We tried to unite mother with calf but on March 14, forest officials decided

she was beyond hope and euthanized her, " Siddiqui told Hindustan Times.

 

THE PRESS RELEASE

 

Dear all,

 

As you may all be aware of the baby elephant that died yesterday at the

State Zoo, Guwahati.

 

It may be noted that a lot of experts from all over the world were involved

in trying to arrange for the welfare of the injured elephant's mother who

had to be eventually euthanized.

 

Since the baby had no name given till the time of its death, hence an appeal

was made to the legendary elephant surrogate mother Dr. Dame Daphne

Sheldrick of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya (

http://www.sheldric kwildlifetrust. org)

 

Dr. Dame Daphne suggests that the baby be named 'Baby Tragedy' in Indian

language.

 

It is worth mentioning that Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick has many a times taken

keen interest in helping the elephants of India and specially Assam in

crisis.

 

It is Daphne whose organisation has trained several Veterinarians and staff

in India who are working for elephant rehabilitation in top organisations

like the WTI etc.

 

It is the training received from Daphne's institution that rehabilitation

and rescue projects in Assam and other parts of India have seen some

positive developments.

 

However Dr. Dame Daphne was extremely disappointed after she was briefed

about the pathetic condition of the injured elephant mother after her

accident due to a train hit on 28th February 2010.

 

She immediately wrote a letter to the officials asking them to take action.

 

Similar pressure was put in by Smt Maneka Gandhi, Mrs Suparna Bakshi

Ganguly, Member Task Force (Project Elephant) and Ms Belinda Wright,

Executive Director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI).

 

Mrs. Gandhi is also taking the matter up with her counterpart at the

parliament Smt. Mamata Banerjee, the Railway Minister.

 

The Project Elephant Director immediately swung into action and the services

of Dr. Kushal Konwar Sharma, Expert Veterinary Surgeon on Elephants was

sought for.

 

As because the condition of the elephant had worsened, therefore it was

finally decided to humanely put her to sleep.

 

Meanwhile, since this end of lives for the baby 'Tragedy' and its mother is

not the last of the tragedies therefore a strong campaign is now the need of

the hour.

 

We are hopeful that the massacre of Indian elephants by 'Killer Steel

Monsters' we call Trains shall certainly stop now that the whole world is

watching and fighting together.

 

Azam Siddiqui

 

Master Trainer in Animal Welfare (2001)

Animal Welfare Board of India

 

Trained in 'Orphaned Elephant Management' (2003)

The David Sheldrick Widlife Trust, Kenya

 

---------- Forwarded message ----------

TRUST <emtrust@africaonlin e.co.ke>

Thu, Mar 25, 2010 at 3:01 PM

Re: The Orphan is dead

azam24x7 <azam24x7 (AT) gmail (DOT) com>

 

Azam,

 

Give the baby an Indian name ie the word for " Tragedy " or somehting like

that which sounds ok in your language.

 

Best wishes

 

Dame Daphne

 

____________ ____

 

--

http://www.stopelep hantpolo. com

http://www.freewebs .com/azamsiddiqu i

 

 

[Guest guest]

Dear all,

 

Please join me in thanking the entire team of JBF India for conducting a free

animal health camp in Satargaon forest village of Assam.

 

I was told by the local villagers that this is the first time ever in the

history of Satargaon that that a health camp (of any kind) was held by any

organisaiton or the government in their village.

 

Thank you Dr. Sashank (Chief Functionary, JBF India) for immediately agreeing to

the camp idea of gifting the villagers something in return for their selfless

service to the injured elephant and getting this this successfully executed from

faraway New Delhi.

 

We should also thank Mr. Naresh Mitra (Wildlife Correspondent) of the Times of

India, Guwahati and Mr. Peter Alex, Correspondent of ANI and his cameraperson

for taking the trouble of trekking along with the team of JBF and highlighting

their efforts.

 

The Times of India brought out a wonderful report in this regard (I have digital

copies of the same, and photographs of the day. Do let me so that I can mail you

individually as AAPN does not allow attachments to be posted

 

Doordarshan, the National Broadcast agency of Government of India featured this

animal health service of JBF in a 15minute report in their programme 'Roving

Report' on Doordarshan NEWS channel.

 

The story got more publicity than expected because of the fact that being

geographically so close to Guwahati the village of 'Sattargaon' was in such dire

straits.

 

It was only because of the 'Animal Health Camp' that now this village is on a

proposed map of developement.

 

At a time when Human- Elephant conflicts are alarmingly high in Assam and all

over India, positive gestures like this initiated by NGOs are a great way of

indirectly keeping the locals engaged in conservation.

 

THE TREK:

 

It was not at all an easy trek carrying the medicine supplies, ration, water on

our shoulders along this route through hills, streams, swamp and thick bamboo

foliage.

 

Five members of the JBF team lost their way initially after getting disconnected

from the main team, but thank God the mobile phone network was still on air and

finally after an hour of hide and seek they were finally reunited.

 

It was a first time for every JBF member to have a feel of a real wild elephant

habitat, they were all overjoyed to see fresh elephant dung, their bathing area,

trees with mud on them that was left by elephants.

 

Mr. Naresh Mitra who is also a naturalist and a birder helped us all see and

identify the colourful & shy bird species that we saw all along.

 

Mr Lakhan Teron a grassroot local environmentalist from near Deepor Beel wetland

was kind enough to accompany us to the village. He helped us all into

identifying the rare medicinal plants.

 

For the young and enterprising team of JBF the journey itself proved to be quite

a unique experience to have a feel of the wildlife that they never knew existed

so close to Guwahati city.

 

On reaching the village one had to go door to door, as the animals had not been

assembled in one place because the villagers had no idea about the camp and most

of their livestock were out grazing.

 

While the JBF team got busy with the treatment, the village women ensured that

the team was looked after well.

 

It was also sad to see the faces of the panic stricken poor animals who had been

pricked by the needle for the first time ever.

 

Fresh mineral water from the stream was fetched for us to drink which is perhaps

the sweetest any of us have ever had in our lives.

It is said that because of the presence of rare and medicinal plants along the

stream the water was very pure and contained no traces of malaria unlike other

tropical rainforests of Assam.

 

The Rani-Garbhanga forests of Assam are known to house a wide range of medicinal

plants most of which is threatened by the massive deforestation, stone quarrying

and other forms of human interference.

 

'Khichidi' (rice & pulses cooked together) and a dish of mixed vegetables was

prepared by the villagers for the team.

JBF also ensured that all the children and villagers had lunch together and so

carried sufficient quantity of ration with them.

 

 

I am sure that the positive energy this team of JBF has been able to extract

after this camp shall go a long way in holding more such initiatives having an

indirect link to conservation of wildlife.

 

Warm regards,

 

 

Azam Siddiqui

 

 

 

aapn , " JBF\(INDIA\) " <jbfindia wrote:

>

>

>

>

> Very unfortunate!!

>  

> Not looking to the NGOs or animal activist every time, will the political

leaders of India & so called Bureaucrats will take care to prevent this type of

unfortunate incidence in future.

>  

> Or will wait for another corporate house to come forward with a campaign to

say 1410 Indian elephants left.... this and that....!!! ???

>

> Dr. Sashanka

>

>

>  

> ----------

> Dr. Sashanka S. Dutta 

> Chief Functionary - JBF(Just Be Friendly)

> Co-opted Member - Animal Welfare Board of India

> (Ministry of Environment & Forests)

> New Delhi - India.

>  

>  

>  

> **** I am associated with JBF (Just Be Friendly), an endeavor to build a

society that enables better life for animals and creates better living

conditions for human. To know more, please visit JBF at www.jbfcharity.org  

 Thanks.

>

>

> --- On Fri, 26/3/10, azam24x7 <azam24x7 wrote:

>

>

> azam24x7 <azam24x7

> (in): Baby 'Tragedy' lives on to battle the 'Killer Steel

Monster'

> " AAPN List " <aapn >

> Friday, 26 March, 2010, 6:46

>

>

>  

>

>

>

> http://www.hindusta ntimes.com/ rssfeed/guwahati /Born-after- train-hit-

mother-baby- elephant- dies-in-Assam- zoo/Article1- 523206.aspx

> <http://www.hindusta ntimes.com/ rssfeed/guwahati /Born-after- train-hit-

mother-baby- elephant- dies-in-Assam- zoo/Article1- 523206.aspx>

> Born after train hit mother, baby elephant dies in Assam zoo

>

> *Rahul Karmakar <http://www.hindusta ntimes.com/ Search/Rahul- Karmakar.

aspx>,

> Hindustan Times*

> Guwahati, March 25, 201

>

> A speeding goods train ejected him from his mother's womb prematurely on

> February 28. Less than a month later - and 10 days after his mother was

> prescribed euthanasia - the baby elephant died of enteritis.

>

> Wildlife enthusiasts had been following the condition of the 'nameless' male

> calf on Facebook and Twitter. Its death in the Assam State Zoo on Wednesday

> night made them zero in on Baby Tragedy.

>

> " Dame Daphne Sheldrick of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya has

> suggested this name to possibly highlight the plight of elephants in India

> vis-à-vis killer railway tracks, " said Azam Siddiqui, master trainer in

> animal welfare.

>

> The elephant calf was born seconds after a goods train hit two female

> elephants on a track skirting the Deepor Beel Bird Sanctuary on the western

> fringes of Assam's capital. Herds of elephants come down regularly from the

> adjoining Rani Reserve Forest - on the other side of the track - to bathe

> and feed on aquatic plants in Deepor Beel, a wetland.

>

> One of the elephants died on the spot. The impact made the other deliver

> beside the track before limping back into the forest. The incident happened

> around 3 am, almost six hours after Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and forest

> officials warned Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) authorities about the

> movement of a herd.

>

> NFR, WTI and Assam Forest Department got together in 2008 to start a

> coordination project to " mitigate elephant mortality due to train hits in

> Assam " . It entailed joint patrolling on 16 elephant corridors across the

> State and educating locomotive drivers.

>

> " There's hardly any cooperation from NFR, and warnings are not heeded, as

> was the case on February 28, " said a WTI coordinator. NFR's running staff

> put the onus on higher officials, claiming they are not told how to go about

> the 'mitigation business'.

>

> Zoo DFO Narayan Mahanta said the calf was barely surviving when it was

> brought to the zoo hours after the train-hit. " We tried our best to ensure

> its survival, and its vulnerability was possibly due to the impact of the

> train-hit, " he said.

>

> While the baby was battling death in the zoo veterinary unit, its mother

> collapsed near Sattargaon, a village close to Assam's border with Meghalaya.

> " The elephant was in great pain when the villagers reported her on March 10.

> We tried to unite mother with calf but on March 14, forest officials decided

> she was beyond hope and euthanized her, " Siddiqui told Hindustan Times.

>

> THE PRESS RELEASE

>

> Dear all,

>

> As you may all be aware of the baby elephant that died yesterday at the

> State Zoo, Guwahati.

>

> It may be noted that a lot of experts from all over the world were involved

> in trying to arrange for the welfare of the injured elephant's mother who

> had to be eventually euthanized.

>

> Since the baby had no name given till the time of its death, hence an appeal

> was made to the legendary elephant surrogate mother Dr. Dame Daphne

> Sheldrick of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya (

> http://www.sheldric kwildlifetrust. org)

>

> Dr. Dame Daphne suggests that the baby be named 'Baby Tragedy' in Indian

> language.

>

> It is worth mentioning that Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick has many a times taken

> keen interest in helping the elephants of India and specially Assam in

> crisis.

>

> It is Daphne whose organisation has trained several Veterinarians and staff

> in India who are working for elephant rehabilitation in top organisations

> like the WTI etc.

>

> It is the training received from Daphne's institution that rehabilitation

> and rescue projects in Assam and other parts of India have seen some

> positive developments.

>

> However Dr. Dame Daphne was extremely disappointed after she was briefed

> about the pathetic condition of the injured elephant mother after her

> accident due to a train hit on 28th February 2010.

>

> She immediately wrote a letter to the officials asking them to take action.

>

> Similar pressure was put in by Smt Maneka Gandhi, Mrs Suparna Bakshi

> Ganguly, Member Task Force (Project Elephant) and Ms Belinda Wright,

> Executive Director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI).

>

> Mrs. Gandhi is also taking the matter up with her counterpart at the

> parliament Smt. Mamata Banerjee, the Railway Minister.

>

> The Project Elephant Director immediately swung into action and the services

> of Dr. Kushal Konwar Sharma, Expert Veterinary Surgeon on Elephants was

> sought for.

>

> As because the condition of the elephant had worsened, therefore it was

> finally decided to humanely put her to sleep.

>

> Meanwhile, since this end of lives for the baby 'Tragedy' and its mother is

> not the last of the tragedies therefore a strong campaign is now the need of

> the hour.

>

> We are hopeful that the massacre of Indian elephants by 'Killer Steel

> Monsters' we call Trains shall certainly stop now that the whole world is

> watching and fighting together.

>

> Azam Siddiqui

>

> Master Trainer in Animal Welfare (2001)

> Animal Welfare Board of India

>

> Trained in 'Orphaned Elephant Management' (2003)

> The David Sheldrick Widlife Trust, Kenya

>

> ---------- Forwarded message ----------

> TRUST <emtrust@africaonlin e.co.ke>

> Thu, Mar 25, 2010 at 3:01 PM

> Re: The Orphan is dead

> azam24x7 <azam24x7 (AT) gmail (DOT) com>

>

> Azam,

>

> Give the baby an Indian name ie the word for " Tragedy " or somehting like

> that which sounds ok in your language.

>

> Best wishes

>

> Dame Daphne

>

> ____________ ____

>

> --

> http://www.stopelep hantpolo. com

> http://www.freewebs .com/azamsiddiqu i

>

>

[Guest guest]

 

Thanks Azam for your kind words.I sent the following write-up by Jonny to aapn

also & was waiting for some comments, but till now none. I suppose nobody liked

or so.

 

See you.

 

Sashanka

 

Dear All,

 

Please read the feelings of Mr. Jonny Krause, Trustee of JBF(Scotland) after

visiting the Shattar Gaon forest village at Assam-Meghalaya Border in India that

displayed a wonderful gesture of compassion and kindness selflessly by attending

to the cries of a cow elephant seriously injured on 28th February 2010 in a

train accident.

 

Your comments will be greatly appreciated and will be passed to Jonny.

 

Regards,

 

Dr. Sashanka S. Dutta

Chief Functionary - JBF(Just Be Friendly)

Co-opted Member - Animal Welfare Board of India

(Ministry of Environment & Forests)

 

 

JBF VISIT TO SHATTARGAON FOREST VILLAGE

 

 

On Monday 05th April 2010 we visited a Forest Village, the inhabitants of which

had earlier made a compassionate attempt to save the life of a mother elephant

that had been hit by a train.

 

The visit was very pleasant and the people we met were friendly and generous in

their hospitality.

 

In conversation with the villagers, it became obvious that they feel ignored by

the authorities and left out of the development being experienced by the urban

areas nearby, such as Guwahati.

 

JBF will be trying to visit the village periodically, to implement a programme

of animal husbandry improvements.

 

We are also interested in helping with the education of the children in the

village, to enable them to see the options open to them in the wider world.

However, we do not wish to only encourage them to leave the forest and then to

do labouring jobs in towns and cities, so we will have to carry out the

education to a level where they can leave the village (if they wish) and gain

employment in jobs that properly use their skills.  However, a severe shortage

of funds within JBF prevents us from achieving such an aim at the moment, so we

are exploring the options within our capabilities.

 

There is a negative side to this story that leaves a very bad feeling with all

those that know of it. The mother elephant was injured beyond saving and should

have been helped to her end in a humane manner by euthanasia on the spot.

Unfortunately, a lengthy process of committee consultation caused the

unacceptable suffering of this helpless mother over a long period.

 

While I understand the religious and environmental issues surrounding the

euthanasia of wild animals, I firmly believe that the process of deciding upon

that course of action must be speeded up from now on.  A simple way to

implement this would be to empower the Forest Rangers with the decision on this

matter. It would be essential for there to be a qualified veterinary

practitioner present, not only to assess the animal and give the prognosis for

recovery, but also to administer the medicines for euthanasia if that is found

to be the most humane course of action.  My reasoning is, that if the Forest

Rangers can be trusted to look after the forest and all the flora and fauna

within that forest, then they are also capable of making a decision, in

conjunction with the vet, on an important issue such as this. A repeat of the

elongated debates and to and fro of political manoeuvrings within the animal

welfare community is not acceptable. The allocation of

responsibility should be given to those in the field without any further delay.

To do otherwise is against the interests of the animals and will therefore cause

unnecessary suffering – a state of affairs that we are all trying to avoid,

I’m sure.

 

Of course, without the train, this accident would not have happened. A mother

and baby would by now be roaming throughout the forest area, adding to the

richness and diversity.  Nobody expects the trains to stop running, but there

has to be some way to stop this tragedy from repeating itself. It is important

that we all try and think of a way that will keep the trains and animals

separate. Perhaps an experimental train can be fitted with an animal guard,

similar to those used in America for their cattle and Australia for their

kangaroos. 

 

In conjunction with this, a system of ensuring the trains adhere to the 20kph

speed limit is essential. An idea from UK would be to have ‘average speed

monitors’ where a post is set into the ground at the entrance and exit of the

speed limit, and fitted with a registering device that activates a module in the

cab. That module is switched on by the trigger on the entrance post and off by

the trigger on the exit post. As the posts are at a pre-measured distance, the

time taken to switch the module on and then off again will give the average

speed it took to travel between the 2 posts. If the allowed average speed is

exceeded, the driver will face a fine for speeding, just as we are in our motor

cars.

 

Please take notice of the lessons that we can learn from this unhappy tragedy. I

ask you to act now before a repeat of this situation arises.

 

Regards,

 

 

Jonny Krause. Trustee

JBF(Scotland)

www.jbfscotland. org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

--- On Tue, 30/3/10, azam24x7 <azam24x7 wrote:

 

 

azam24x7 <azam24x7

Re: (in): Baby 'Tragedy' lives on to battle the 'Killer Steel

Monster'

aapn

Tuesday, 30 March, 2010, 11:21

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear all,

 

Please join me in thanking the entire team of JBF India for conducting a free

animal health camp in Satargaon forest village of Assam.

 

I was told by the local villagers that this is the first time ever in the

history of Satargaon that that a health camp (of any kind) was held by any

organisaiton or the government in their village.

 

Thank you Dr. Sashank (Chief Functionary, JBF India) for immediately agreeing to

the camp idea of gifting the villagers something in return for their selfless

service to the injured elephant and getting this this successfully executed from

faraway New Delhi.

 

We should also thank Mr. Naresh Mitra (Wildlife Correspondent) of the Times of

India, Guwahati and Mr. Peter Alex, Correspondent of ANI and his cameraperson

for taking the trouble of trekking along with the team of JBF and highlighting

their efforts.

 

The Times of India brought out a wonderful report in this regard (I have digital

copies of the same, and photographs of the day. Do let me so that I can mail you

individually as AAPN does not allow attachments to be posted

 

Doordarshan, the National Broadcast agency of Government of India featured this

animal health service of JBF in a 15minute report in their programme 'Roving

Report' on Doordarshan NEWS channel.

 

The story got more publicity than expected because of the fact that being

geographically so close to Guwahati the village of 'Sattargaon' was in such dire

straits.

 

It was only because of the 'Animal Health Camp' that now this village is on a

proposed map of developement.

 

At a time when Human- Elephant conflicts are alarmingly high in Assam and all

over India, positive gestures like this initiated by NGOs are a great way of

indirectly keeping the locals engaged in conservation.

 

THE TREK:

 

It was not at all an easy trek carrying the medicine supplies, ration, water on

our shoulders along this route through hills, streams, swamp and thick bamboo

foliage.

 

Five members of the JBF team lost their way initially after getting disconnected

from the main team, but thank God the mobile phone network was still on air and

finally after an hour of hide and seek they were finally reunited.

 

It was a first time for every JBF member to have a feel of a real wild elephant

habitat, they were all overjoyed to see fresh elephant dung, their bathing area,

trees with mud on them that was left by elephants.

 

Mr. Naresh Mitra who is also a naturalist and a birder helped us all see and

identify the colourful & shy bird species that we saw all along.

 

Mr Lakhan Teron a grassroot local environmentalist from near Deepor Beel wetland

was kind enough to accompany us to the village. He helped us all into

identifying the rare medicinal plants.

 

For the young and enterprising team of JBF the journey itself proved to be quite

a unique experience to have a feel of the wildlife that they never knew existed

so close to Guwahati city.

 

On reaching the village one had to go door to door, as the animals had not been

assembled in one place because the villagers had no idea about the camp and most

of their livestock were out grazing.

 

While the JBF team got busy with the treatment, the village women ensured that

the team was looked after well.

 

It was also sad to see the faces of the panic stricken poor animals who had been

pricked by the needle for the first time ever.

 

Fresh mineral water from the stream was fetched for us to drink which is perhaps

the sweetest any of us have ever had in our lives.

It is said that because of the presence of rare and medicinal plants along the

stream the water was very pure and contained no traces of malaria unlike other

tropical rainforests of Assam.

 

The Rani-Garbhanga forests of Assam are known to house a wide range of medicinal

plants most of which is threatened by the massive deforestation, stone quarrying

and other forms of human interference.

 

'Khichidi' (rice & pulses cooked together) and a dish of mixed vegetables was

prepared by the villagers for the team.

JBF also ensured that all the children and villagers had lunch together and so

carried sufficient quantity of ration with them.

 

I am sure that the positive energy this team of JBF has been able to extract

after this camp shall go a long way in holding more such initiatives having an

indirect link to conservation of wildlife.

 

Warm regards,

 

Azam Siddiqui

 

aapn , " JBF\(INDIA\ ) " <jbfindia@.. .> wrote:

>

>

>

>

> Very unfortunate! !

>  

> Not looking to the NGOs or animal activist every time, will the political

leaders of India & so called Bureaucrats will take care to prevent this type of

unfortunate incidence in future.

>  

> Or will wait for another corporate house to come forward with a campaign to

say 1410 Indian elephants left.... this and that....!!! ???

>

> Dr. Sashanka

>

>

>  

> ----------

> Dr. Sashanka S. Dutta 

> Chief Functionary - JBF(Just Be Friendly)

> Co-opted Member - Animal Welfare Board of India

> (Ministry of Environment & Forests)

> New Delhi - India.

>  

>  

>  

> **** I am associated with JBF (Just Be Friendly), an endeavor to build a

society that enables better life for animals and creates better living

conditions for human. To know more, please visit JBF at www.jbfcharity. org  

 Thanks.

>

>

> --- On Fri, 26/3/10, azam24x7 <azam24x7@.. .> wrote:

>

>

> azam24x7 <azam24x7@.. .>

> (in): Baby 'Tragedy' lives on to battle the 'Killer Steel

Monster'

> " AAPN List " <aapn >

> Friday, 26 March, 2010, 6:46

>

>

>  

>

>

>

> http://www.hindusta ntimes.com/ rssfeed/guwahati /Born-after- train-hit-

mother-baby- elephant- dies-in-Assam- zoo/Article1- 523206.aspx

> <http://www.hindusta ntimes.com/ rssfeed/guwahati /Born-after- train-hit-

mother-baby- elephant- dies-in-Assam- zoo/Article1- 523206.aspx>

> Born after train hit mother, baby elephant dies in Assam zoo

>

> *Rahul Karmakar <http://www.hindusta ntimes.com/ Search/Rahul- Karmakar.

aspx>,

> Hindustan Times*

> Guwahati, March 25, 201

>

> A speeding goods train ejected him from his mother's womb prematurely on

> February 28. Less than a month later - and 10 days after his mother was

> prescribed euthanasia - the baby elephant died of enteritis.

>

> Wildlife enthusiasts had been following the condition of the 'nameless' male

> calf on Facebook and Twitter. Its death in the Assam State Zoo on Wednesday

> night made them zero in on Baby Tragedy.

>

> " Dame Daphne Sheldrick of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya has

> suggested this name to possibly highlight the plight of elephants in India

> vis-à-vis killer railway tracks, " said Azam Siddiqui, master trainer in

> animal welfare.

>

> The elephant calf was born seconds after a goods train hit two female

> elephants on a track skirting the Deepor Beel Bird Sanctuary on the western

> fringes of Assam's capital. Herds of elephants come down regularly from the

> adjoining Rani Reserve Forest - on the other side of the track - to bathe

> and feed on aquatic plants in Deepor Beel, a wetland.

>

> One of the elephants died on the spot. The impact made the other deliver

> beside the track before limping back into the forest. The incident happened

> around 3 am, almost six hours after Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and forest

> officials warned Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) authorities about the

> movement of a herd.

>

> NFR, WTI and Assam Forest Department got together in 2008 to start a

> coordination project to " mitigate elephant mortality due to train hits in

> Assam " . It entailed joint patrolling on 16 elephant corridors across the

> State and educating locomotive drivers.

>

> " There's hardly any cooperation from NFR, and warnings are not heeded, as

> was the case on February 28, " said a WTI coordinator. NFR's running staff

> put the onus on higher officials, claiming they are not told how to go about

> the 'mitigation business'.

>

> Zoo DFO Narayan Mahanta said the calf was barely surviving when it was

> brought to the zoo hours after the train-hit. " We tried our best to ensure

> its survival, and its vulnerability was possibly due to the impact of the

> train-hit, " he said.

>

> While the baby was battling death in the zoo veterinary unit, its mother

> collapsed near Sattargaon, a village close to Assam's border with Meghalaya.

> " The elephant was in great pain when the villagers reported her on March 10.

> We tried to unite mother with calf but on March 14, forest officials decided

> she was beyond hope and euthanized her, " Siddiqui told Hindustan Times.

>

> THE PRESS RELEASE

>

> Dear all,

>

> As you may all be aware of the baby elephant that died yesterday at the

> State Zoo, Guwahati.

>

> It may be noted that a lot of experts from all over the world were involved

> in trying to arrange for the welfare of the injured elephant's mother who

> had to be eventually euthanized.

>

> Since the baby had no name given till the time of its death, hence an appeal

> was made to the legendary elephant surrogate mother Dr. Dame Daphne

> Sheldrick of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya (

> http://www.sheldric kwildlifetrust. org)

>

> Dr. Dame Daphne suggests that the baby be named 'Baby Tragedy' in Indian

> language.

>

> It is worth mentioning that Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick has many a times taken

> keen interest in helping the elephants of India and specially Assam in

> crisis.

>

> It is Daphne whose organisation has trained several Veterinarians and staff

> in India who are working for elephant rehabilitation in top organisations

> like the WTI etc.

>

> It is the training received from Daphne's institution that rehabilitation

> and rescue projects in Assam and other parts of India have seen some

> positive developments.

>

> However Dr. Dame Daphne was extremely disappointed after she was briefed

> about the pathetic condition of the injured elephant mother after her

> accident due to a train hit on 28th February 2010.

>

> She immediately wrote a letter to the officials asking them to take action.

>

> Similar pressure was put in by Smt Maneka Gandhi, Mrs Suparna Bakshi

> Ganguly, Member Task Force (Project Elephant) and Ms Belinda Wright,

> Executive Director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI).

>

> Mrs. Gandhi is also taking the matter up with her counterpart at the

> parliament Smt. Mamata Banerjee, the Railway Minister.

>

> The Project Elephant Director immediately swung into action and the services

> of Dr. Kushal Konwar Sharma, Expert Veterinary Surgeon on Elephants was

> sought for.

>

> As because the condition of the elephant had worsened, therefore it was

> finally decided to humanely put her to sleep.

>

> Meanwhile, since this end of lives for the baby 'Tragedy' and its mother is

> not the last of the tragedies therefore a strong campaign is now the need of

> the hour.

>

> We are hopeful that the massacre of Indian elephants by 'Killer Steel

> Monsters' we call Trains shall certainly stop now that the whole world is

> watching and fighting together.

>

> Azam Siddiqui

>

> Master Trainer in Animal Welfare (2001)

> Animal Welfare Board of India

>

> Trained in 'Orphaned Elephant Management' (2003)

> The David Sheldrick Widlife Trust, Kenya

>

> ---------- Forwarded message ----------

> TRUST <emtrust@africaonli n e.co.ke>

> Thu, Mar 25, 2010 at 3:01 PM

> Re: The Orphan is dead

> azam24x7 <azam24x7 (AT) gmail (DOT) com>

>

> Azam,

>

> Give the baby an Indian name ie the word for " Tragedy " or somehting like

> that which sounds ok in your language.

>

> Best wishes

>

> Dame Daphne

>

> ____________ ____

>

> --

> http://www.stopelep hantpolo. com

> http://www.freewebs .com/azamsiddiqu i

>

>