Jumbo die-off triggers massive exercise by Forest depart-ment to contain bacteria spread (State of Odisha, India)
Jumbo die-off triggers massive exercise by Forest depart-ment to contain
bacteria spread (State of Odisha, India)
The New Indian Express
February 15, 2021
See link
https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2021/feb/15/jumbo-die-off-triggers-massive-exerciseby-forest-dept-to-contain-bacteria-spread-2264241.html
for photo.
BHAWANIPATNA/BHUBANESWAR: The Wildlife Wing of the Forest department has
mounted a massive exercise to contain the killing spree of hemorrhagic
septicemia which has claimed six elephants in two weeks in Karlapat
Wildlife Sanctuary of Kalahandi district.
Faced with the first and single-biggest elephant die-off in the wild in the
State, the Wildlife Wing moved teams to segregate other herds in the
neighbouring forest pockets. It employed drones in two forest beats of
Karlapat range to keep a watch on the jumbos while generating visuals from
camera traps for better surveillance.
Acting Chief Wildlife Warden Shashi Paul too rushed to Kalahandi to monitor
the situation on ground on Sunday.
There are two herds of about eight to nine members in the range but their
location is divided by a road. Forest staff is trying to keep the
unimpacted group away from the one which is hit by the bacterial disease
caused by Pasteurella Multocida.
All the six dead elephants are female. “Since female elephants band
together in a herd, they seem to have been hit by the bacterial disease.
Our first effort is to contain the spread while keeping a close watch on
water bodies which may have been infected,” Paul told The New Indian
Express.
A team from Animal Diseases Research Institute (ADRI) and another from
Directorate of Veterinary Services are on their way. “We are also seeking
advice from senior veterinary expert from Assam KK Sharma in this regard,”
the Chief Wildlife Warden said.
Efforts are also on to bury some of the small water bodies while
disinfecting the bigger ones which may have hosted the bacteria.Centre for
Wildlife Health (CWH) coordinator and Head of Department of Preventive
Medicine at OUAT Dr Niranjan Sahu who visited the sanctuary for an on-spot
review of the situation said the bacterial disease is not new and is
reported throughout the year from different parts of the county. However,
this is for the first time that Odisha has reported such a single event.
On many occasions cattle are infected by the disease if not vaccinated
twice a year - pre and post-monsoon.
“From containing the spread to treatment, everything is standardised for
prevention of the disease and we are well prepared for domestic spread. The
challenge, however, is due to its outbreak in the wild,” Sahu said and
added that a meeting with the wildlife officials and veterinarians was
convened on Saturday to work out measures.
Vaccination of domestic cattle in the villages located inside the sanctuary
and sanitisation is in progress by veterinary staff with support from the
forest staff. Villagers have been alerted on the matter. A major challenge
for forest officials on the field is to keep infected elephant herd from
coming in contact with other herds and animals.
DFO Kalahandi South Division Ashok Kumar and his team and veterinary team
are camping in the area to strengthen surveillance measures.
Apart from elephants, death of no other animal species inside the sanctuary
has been reported so far.