The Forest department has proposed surgery for PT-7, the captured rogue tusker of Dhoni suffering from visual impairment in one of its eyes. Forest veterinarians who examined the elephant, now called Dhoni, expressed confidence that the animal could regain its vision through surgery.
Forest officials said here on Thursday that permission would be given soon to move the elephant out of the kraal, where it has been in confinement since its capture on January 22. A special team of veterinarians with specialists in eye surgery will examine the tusker.
A vet team of the Forest department examined the elephant the other day and certified its sound health.
The animal, according to forest officials, has begun to respond positively to the directions of mahouts who are engaged in the taming and training process. The Forest department is of the view that the elephant can be brought out of the kraal under sedation, and surgery can be carried on its right eye.
The Forest department had said that the elephant had vision impairment in its right eye even on the day of its capture. On close examination, the elephant was found to have had several pellets in its body on capture. It was suspected that the local people might have shot the animal as it persistently wreaked havoc in their farmlands.
It is suspected that the elephant might have lost its vision following an injury from a pellet. However, none could confirm it so far. The Forest department has considered surgery on the elephant’s eye after a prolonged medication did not yield any results.
The Forest department captured the elephant codenamed Palakkad Tusker 7 (PT 7) on January 22 after it terrorised the Dhoni, Mayapuram, Malampuzha and Mundur regions for about four years. It was a regular marauder in those regions. It was suspected to have been the elephant that trampled a 60-year-old man at Dhoni during his morning walk in July 2022. Data with the Forest department showed that PT 7 had remained outside of the forest more than six months within a year.
Meanwhile, the Elephant Lovers Forum demanded an investigation into the circumstances leading to the loss of vision for PT 7. Elephant Lovers Forum officials said here that the Forest department, in a Right to Information Act reply, had denied the presence of any pellet on the animal’s body.
The forum officials said that the animal might have lost its vision from an injury caused during the taming process. They said they would approach a court seeking clarity in the matter.
