Dhenkanal: Rakesh, the ‘rampaging tusker’ under captivity now at the ‘Kapilas Zoo’ here is not keeping well for a few days now. His condition has become a cause for concern for zoo officials as well as animal lovers.
The tusker once used to be a source of terror in the Talcher area. Officials of the forest department then tranquilised the pachyderm before relocating it to the zoo. Since then it has been kept chained in an area meant to house elephants.
Rakesh first developed a wound on the chained left leg. It was successfully treated by veterinarians from OUAT, Bhubaneswar. However, he developed fresh wounds on his back. Then while these wounds were being treated, it was learnt that he had developed some infections again on his left leg.
Dhenkanal district’s divisional forest officer Bimal Prasanna Acharya confirmed that Rakesh is suffering from an infection. “We are treating the elephant. We are hoping it will recover soon,” said Acharya.
PNN