This video brings you the rescue mission of this elephant who has advertently come in contact with the electrified fence shown here. A herd of elephants have come in the night and tried to break this fence, to enter into the adjoining crop field.
This elephant has got stuck between the fence wires and have had a massive electric shock which threw him to the ground. The electric fence have got turned off thereafter.
All electrified fences are not of an equally good standard as some are installed by the government and some by the villagers themselves, using their own money. These fences do not intend to kill elephants. It is used only to protect the people and their cultivations from elephant threats.
The elephant seems burnt, dehydrated, and unable to get up. In situations like this, neurological effects can occur and can result in loss of nervous control and swift loss of consciousness. If not aided immediately, it could even kill the animal.
When the villagers saw this fallen elephant in the morning, they informed the wildlife office and the officers came right away. The kind villagers have also ordered a water bowser with their own money to treat the burnings of the elephant and to cool its body, till the pain subsides.
As soon as the officers arrive, they clean the elephant’s ear thoroughly with a disinfectant and prepare the elephant to receive IV saline therapy.
Especially, in situations like this, quick and sufficient rehydration is essential to avoid fatality.
When the external hydration is done, the veterinarians see that the elephant is way too weak and decide to administer about 20 bottles of saline via the IV catheter. 20 bottles is a large quantity but as it looks, this elephant is severely dehydrated and requires a big dose to avoid serious issues.
To restore the body fluids faster, they also mix a dose of glucose into the saline.
When burnt by an electric shock and the nervous system gets damaged, there could be a lot of pain, stinging sensations, and muscle weakness caused by the current, apart from immunity weakness.
After the body gets sufficiently rehydrated, each of these conditions should be tackled to put the animal in comfort. Hence, the drugs relevant to normalizing these issues are injected next.
Electric fencing is commonly found in villages bordering forest reserves. It is an excellent deterrent to trespassing wild animals, as these fence wires send brief yet high voltage pulses of electrical current down the fence line, to the animal that comes into contact with it, giving a shock and therefore preventing it from invading a territory.
Wild elephants come in herds to villages looking for food, especially during the drought season. These hungry animals create a tense situation in the villages, destroying the crops and eating from them making the entire place a mess.
It is to prevent situations such as these, people use these electric fences. By any means, it does not mean torturing or killing animals. However, all electric fences do not conform to standard specifications. Therefore the voltage of the shock may have effects ranging from discomfort to even death.
Usually, the voltage of an electric fence varies from about 2,000 to about 10,000 volts. The voltage that is used depends on the desired power of the shock and the distance on the fence that can be shocked up to.
That is why these fences should be properly maintained to ensure safety and effectiveness. The elephant seems to have a few wounds in the body too. So, the vets inject antibiotics into those wounds to put a stop to building up an infection and to dry it up.
After the saline is administered, and the other medicines are given, the IV catheters are removed carefully. The elephant seems to have regained its lost energy from the medicines and is struggling to stand up.
The elephant is still struggling but does not show a possibility to wake up by himself. They have given the elephant a few leaves to eat too. But he is still not showing any interest in eating.
Even though the elephant shows improvement in terms of energy, he is not putting any effort to get up. Maybe it is still too difficult for him to lift his massive body off the ground. We can also assume that the body pains have not fully subsided yet.
The elephant is no more in danger as all necessary treatment has been done. Therefore, the vet team decides to leave him at that. They will have him closely monitored until he is fully recovered. An update about his progress will be pinned in, as the first comment, in due course.