This wildlife rescue and rehabilitation project in Assam, India rehabilitates orphaned elephant calves back into the wild. At times, elephant babies are orphaned and abandoned by their herd following the tragic death of their mothers, either due to electrocution, poaching or conflict. To ensure their survival, our trained team of veterinarians and animal keepers bring them to our rehabilitation center, where they are nurtured for 3-4 years until they are ready to return home, into the wild.
Following the death of its mother, the chances of survival of a juvenile elephant calf in the wild are close to nil. The orphaned calves, as young as 1-3 months old, are either predated upon or starved to death. They suffer severe trauma, and at the time of their rescue, are often found in a terrible state - dehydrated and emaciated. To survive, these babies don't just need immediate stabilization, but also long-term care, nourishment and nurturing, for which we bring them to our center.
Established in 2002, the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), provides nutrition, medicine and health care to orphaned babies. They are hand-raised by a team of trained veterinarians and animal keepers for 3-4 years and prepared for a life in the wild, just like their mothers would. Once ready, they are relocated to a suitable release site in the forest. As they slowly acclimatize to their forever wild home, they are fitted with satellite monitoring collars and released.
Rehabilitation not only transforms individual lives from tragedy to success, but also contributes additional elephants to the overall wild elephant population in India. There have been several instances when our rehabilitated elephants have been seen socializing with wild herds, and rescued females have birthed calves in the wild. At CWRC, we have given a second chance at life to these 9 young ones and can't wait to see them grow into strong, free-roaming, wild elephants.
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