The Rajaji Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand has 6 captive elephants (3 of whom are calves) for the purpose of patrolling and monitoring. They don’t get to roam around as much as wild elephants which is why the authorities have set up a ‘gym’ for them.
Hindustan Times quoted field director Amit Verma explaining, “In this gym, we have started many activities. We have kept big pipes with holes in it. We keep food like bananas in these big pipes and elephants have to search for the food in them. We have also kept tyres hanging from ropes, big hanging balls and small balls on the ground for three baby elephants.”
#Elephants enjoy mud bath, play with balls in Uttarakhand’s ‘elephant gym’
Rajaji Tiger Reserve Park has set up the gym to de-stress captive elephants that are used for patrolling and monitoring in the reserve. pic.twitter.com/BGBo4iQpfV
— Hindustan Times (@htTweets) July 4, 2020
He added,
“We have also set up a mud bath heap for these elephants, which they enjoy a lot. Through these activities, we want to ensure that these captive elephants remain active and get some good exercise. Such playful activities will ensure that these elephants don’t feel boredom and don’t have to live a sedentary life compared to wild elephants in their natural habitats.”
Veterinarian Dr. Aditi Sharma was quoted saying, “Separated from their herds, these captive elephants feel boredom and stress in captivity. Because of this, many captive elephants starting moving their heads a lot while standing. With these activities, we want to ensure they move a lot and remain cheerful and active.”
In a first, Rajaji Tiger Reserve sets up ‘elephant gym’ to de-stress captive elephants – dehradun – Hindustan Times https://t.co/0fYROmwyhq
— Indian Wildlife And Enviornmental News (@WildlifeIndian) July 4, 2020
She added, “We have started activities like keeping fruits or fodder in baskets and keep them high on the tree branches. Also, elephants love mud bath heaps, especially in summers. So we have also developed a mud bath heap for them in this gym.”
Kudos, to the management for keeping in mind the physical as well as mental health of the elephants.