Barang: In a brief respite for Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP) authorities, a two-member central team that visited the zoo, Wednesday, said the NZP has followed all measures and ensured good treatment to the pachyderms that died due to Herpes infection.
The team, comprising Central Zoo Authority (CZA) secretary SP Yadav and Assam Elephant Herpes department head Gouranga Mahato that reached the zoo in the morning, held an hour-long discussion with NZP authorities about the several issues relating to the elephant deaths, including preventative measures and treatment methods adopted by zoo. Later, the team took stock of elephants Mama, Prema, Basanti and Heera.
The CZA secretary said that following consultations with national and international level experts, elephant deaths at NZP can be attributed to Herpes.
“The identification of the viral infection can be done only at a few laboratories in the country. A laboratory in Guwahati have tested the blood samples of the dead pachyderms and confirmed Herpes as the killer. It is the first incident in NZP. The Herpes is usually seen among the elephants in the forests. The virus gets activated due to change in the atmosphere. And survival chances of Herpes-affected elephants is low,” Yadav said.
Yadav added that NZP authorities have contacted them for advice on several occasions. The NZP authorities adopted due procedure to treat the elephants. Hence, zoo authorities cannot be blamed for the deaths. The team, which is on a two-day visit to NZP, is scheduled to visit Chandaka, Thursday.