Ramu

RAMU'S RESCUE STORY

For a young, energetic bull elephant like Ramu, life was not fair when he was separated from his herd as a young calf and taken under the care of a zoo in Ranchi, Jharkhand. Young Ramu was suffering from severe osteoarthritis and malnutrition, in view of which it was decided that he would be sent to the Wildlife SOS Elephant Hospital in Mathura for specialised care and treatment.

An elephant care team from Wildlife SOS went to Ranchi to build a bond of friendship and trust with the young elephant to help facilitate the elephant’s medical care. A veterinary team was then sent with medical equipment for providing immediate relief to the pachyderm and also conducted an assessment to see if he was fit to be transported to the Elephant Hospital. Once veterinary approval was received, a specialized Elephant Ambulance was dispatched by Wildlife SOS to transport Ramu across 1100 kms, accompanied by a team of expert veterinarians and elephant keepers.

Ramu receives laser therapy for his arthritic limbs which provides relief at a cellular level and expedite healing in order to give him relief from the pain and inflammation. Although his deformed ankle will be a permanent liability to him, oral anti-inflammatories and pain medication is administered to him so as to alleviate his pain. Our young Ramu is often spotted running around his enclosure, which gives us huge relief in terms of his healing, but he is a typical teenager and is extremely picky when it comes to food! Not too fond of fruit and a dedicated fan of roasted Bengal gram (sattu) flour, he refuses to eat anything else offered, always keeping his keeper on his toes to arrange for whatever it is that this pachyderm wishes for!