The woe of an elephant

Trekking in these regions is not difficult. The forest has its own charms to keep you amused, sometimes, to keep you spellbound. But then, you have got to be alert.

It was not a full leg of trekking for us. The jeep transported us as far into the jungle as the rough path would allow. As we were carried jolting along, someone in the group spotted a baby elephant. We stopped the vehicle. I was the first to get off.

I took the lens shield away to shoot it. In the meantime, others had joined. Maybe, it was the whirring sound that attracted the herd. The baby, obviously, was not alone. I didn’t know that. I was so involved looking through the lens that I didn’t notice the menacing march of the herd toward me. But then, it stopped—the herd. Only then did I realized that our own team to was behind me. The elephants were smart enough to outwit us.

One member of the herd caught my attention. There were huge blobs, like the boils you get when you get scaled by hot liquid, on many parts of its body. The ones on the thighs and legs were clearly visible. I thought that pachyderm must be in great pain. I thought I must help this beast.

The only thing I could do was send a photo of this to Ravi Chellam (Wildlife Conservation Society) who in turn asked his friend Dr NVK Ashraff (Wildlife Trust of India ), a veterinary doctor. Ravi replied that the elephant suffered from a common disease called cuteneous filariasis, a common one during the monsoon.


Well, it was learning. As I said, the jungle teaches. It has its own ways of reaching out to us.

I spotted the crested serpent eagle. Amusing! Turning its head to 180 degrees. I was so fascinated that I had not clicked the camera at all. Later  I managed to take one.


I decided that next time I visited a forest, I will do some research before I started. It will prepare me for what to expect.