CONTROL & MANAGEMENT OF CAPTIVE ELEPHANT DURING MUSTH

 

CONTROL & MANAGEMENT OF CAPTIVE ELEPHANT DURING MUSTH

 

Post no 1319 dt 14th of July 2019.
Compiled and shared by Dr (Prof.) Indramani Nath ,Professor & Head,SURGERY AND RADIOLOGY,C.V.Sc& A.H. at

College of Veterinary Science & A.H., Bhubaneswar,  A renowned wildlife veterinarian of India,
Dr Sarat Sahu, Chief Wildlife veterinarian, Nandan Kanan Zoo, Bhubaneswar & Dr Rajesh kumar singh, jamshedpur, jharkhand, India,
9431309542,rajeshsinghvet@gmail.com

Today i visited the captive elephants rehabilitation center located at Dalma wildlife sanctuary near Jamshedpur to see the aggressive behaviour of one of the captive elephant rescued over there.The elephant named Rajani (F-13) is showing aggressive behaviour since last 15 days. She is not following the commands of her mahaout.There is swelling of the temporal gland as i saw.The forest officials including mahaout are afraid of the changed behaviour of Rajani. As we know the musth take place mostly in male n rarely in Asian female elephant, here as per our diagnosis through overall observation it is the clear case of musth in female elephant or Cow elephant.
To make the cow elephant calm ,i gave some managemental tips to the concern mahauts after consultation with my teacher Dr (prof.) Indramani Nath, a renowned wildlife expert of India and my friend Dr Sarat sahu, cheif wildlife vet of Nandan kanan Zoo, Bhubaneshwar.

In case of cow elephant during musth there is heavy surge of estrogen hormone which is responsible for behaviour change in female. The goal is to eliminate the over secration from the body n prevent the further secretion .. so in order to achieve this the tips like reducing the concentrate from the deit, providing roughage n fodder adlibitum, plenty of drinking water ,reduction in the diet and giving urinary diuretics like lasix  tab orally .

 

A brief concept note on care & management of elephant during musth is as follows:

 

Animal behaviour is intimately connected with chemical signaling, often through glandular secretions. This is very significant and obvious in Asian male elephants during their musth period when their temporal glands secrete a fluid with a characteristic odor. Musth gland activity greatly influences the elephant society as well as man-elephant interaction. Elephants have had a chequered association with humans. They were used to push or drag heavy items in times of war and during peacetime, were employed in logging operations. Mughal emperors captured and used elephants for hunting, in war and even for executions. The British managed hundreds of elephants for forestry work all over the subcontinent and often for hunting tigers. Artists have left many paintings of elephants kept by the Mughal emperors. Many more Mughal paintings show musth elephants, though the characteristic extended penis is not depicted in any (perhaps an embarrassment for the artist!). The elephant is loved as a manifestation of the Lord Ganesha and has been used in temple processions and as a part of royal entourage throughout the country. In spite of its long association with man, we have not been able to domesticate elephants fully as we have domesticated other animals like dogs for example. This is arguably due to the ‘musth’ condition that occurs periodically in males when they become temperamental and very often aggressive. Instances are many when musth elephants have killed their mahouts. The musth period lasts a few months and is characterized by a secretion from the temporal glands that has a significant odor (recognizable even by humans).
Zoos all over the world have Asian elephants. Most people believe they are essential for temple functions. Due to these reasons, and also since they are integrated with the ethos of our country, we have to find ways to manage them suitably, musth or no musth. In places where elephants occur naturally, there is conflict when elephants infringe on areas of human activity. Instances of wild elephants raiding farms at forest boundaries are becoming increasingly common and this gets compounded when males in musth are involved. A deeper understanding of musth gland activity can help us not only to fathom elephant behaviour and evolution but also to find possible ways to control abnormal aggression – perhaps in many other species too!

 

The Musth Gland————

 

Also called the temporal gland, it is located about midway between the eye and ear on either side of the face. The size of the gland may be that of a human fist but this gets enlarged more than double in the active state and the swelling is noticeable . When it is not active, the duct end is seen as a hole only. When activity starts in the male, a patch of fluid can be seen. The musth gland is considered to be a modification of an apocrine sweat gland. Sweat glands are of two types, eccrine and apocrine . Interestingly, the elephant skin lacks eccrine sweat glands (it doesn’t sweat) and the body temperature is controlled by fanning of the ears which have extensive blood vessels and exhalation from lungs, keeping in shade during the hot hours of the day and a prolonged bath whenever possible.

 

External Manifestation of Musth——————

 

Musth occurs in male elephants, both Asian (Elephas maximus) and African (Loxodonta africana). In the female Asian elephant, rarely the temporal gland may extrude a secretion when it is pregnant or otherwise stressed. While musth has been well documented for Asian elephants, it was recognized only in the last quarter of the twentieth century in the African species. African elephants, both females and males (mature and subadults) have temporal gland secretion intermittently as an indication of their mental and physiological state but there is pronounced testosterone secretion during musth in only adult males. In the Asian male elephant, both tuskers and tuskless males (mukhnas) come into musth. The temporal gland secretion starts in the subadult stage but becomes typical musth only after reaching maturity. In the adult male, five stages of musth have been described viz pre-musth, early musth, mid-musth, post-musth and non-musth, the musth activity being typically over a 16 week period. In pre-musth, only volatile compounds are given out from the temporal gland and may not be noticed by humans. In early musth, the secretion begins as shown in Figure 2. Continuous secretion is seen in mid-musth (Figure 4) and is characterized not only by the oily secretion and pungent smell, but also frequent urine-dribbling from an extended penis and marked aggression. There is a tendency to spread musth fluid on objects like tree trunks leaving it as a message of the animal’s condition (Figure 5). The body temperature is higher than normal. The elephant shows decreased appetite and thirst as compared to a non-musth tusker. Activity decreases in late musth when secretion and aggression tapers off into the non-musth condition. At the end of musth, the elephant might have lost almost a tenth of its body weight. In the African elephant, during musth (correlated with increased testosterone in temporal gland secretion and blood), as many as eight distinct behaviour patterns have been described some of which are common to those of the Asian species mentioned above. Males in musth of both species, show marked aggressive behaviour, like pulling at chains (in the case of captive ones) or lunging at other males that take care to stay out of reach. Males in musth are also drawn to females . The animal feels irritated by the discharge and naturalists have noticed that it tries to increase musth flow by pressing the tusk root against a hard surface , possibly for scent marking as well. In captive elephants, the animal is seen to manipulate small twigs with the trunk poking the musth orifice with it. Bits of twigs are thus found stuck in the orifice causing further irritation. The only other mammal that shows a distinct musth period is the male adult camel in rut when it becomes aggressive and also produces a glandular secretion but the condition is not so well pronounced as in elephants. Since elephants have exceptional olfactory perception (as good or better than a bloodhound), they can smell the musth components even when the condition is just starting in one male during pre-musth and this may inhibit the initiation of musth in the receiver males. This phenomenon has been noted among the camp elephants of the Tamil Nadu Forest Department where records show that only one adult male is in musth at a time. This is perhaps nature’s way of preventing conflicts within a group. A musth elephant is also smelt from far away by conspecifics and may be attracted by receptive females who also advertise their condition. Other non-musth males take care to avoid the musth male, and if there happens to be another male in musth in the area, a conflict can arise.

 

 

Chemical Composition of Musth———————-

 

 

Hundreds of organic substances have been identified at various stages of the musth condition using GC-MS (Gas chromatography coupled with Mass Spectrometry), HPLC (High Pressure Liquid Chromatography) and other techniques. The most significant compound is testosterone and its derivative dihydrotestosterone – not surprising since the animal is aggressive in most cases and is kept in chains if captive. The temporal gland secretions continue for various periods for around 90 days. Apart from testosterone and dihydrotestosterone, the other predominant compounds are several ketones, proteins, mucopolysaccharides, lipid metabolites, etc., whose relative concentrations vary with the time course of musth. Another significant compound is frontalin, a pheromone described first in insects that is used by the female insect to attract males . Many of these compounds are present not only in the musth secretion, but also in the blood serum and urine as well. The urine dribbling has significance in this connection since other elephants smelling it will know the condition of the musth elephant – males avoid it while females in receptive condition may be attracted. Other components like proteins present may fix the lighter components for a higher time period. A few experiments have been carried out to find whether some of the volatile chemicals like cyclohexanone can be used to keep away marauding elephants from crops but this was not a great success since elephants are perhaps too intelligent to be tricked repeatedly! The response of the opposite sex also to a particular chemical may be different. Pure frontalin evokes no response in males while females in the right stage of ovulation are responsive and get attracted to the male in musth. Males in musth are attracted to females whose urine contains the female pheromone Z-7 dodecenyl acetate. The whole gamut of chemicals may together transmit an ‘honest’ message to the receiver on the state of the giver.

 

Musth and Elephant Behaviour—————–

 

The most important aspect of musth is the behaviour associated with it. Musth has been conserved through evolution in spite of the loss in body condition suffered during the period. Elephants in musth are very aggressive and dominate other males, which may be stronger physically but not in musth. This is reflected in the testosterone levels in the musth fluid, serum and urine. Possibly, as a result of their aggressive behaviour, musth males are able to get more mating opportunities with receptive females and their genes get transmitted through generations. So, in spite of its negative effects, the musth characteristic has continued in elephant society. It is not that all elephants are aggressive in musth; many as they reach the latter years of fifty or thereabouts, though quite reproductively active, are less aggressive and are safely handled, as observed in captive Asian animals. The elephant from which I got a biopsy of the musth gland when in the active condition was 50 years old but was not aggressive (at least towards his mahout and the elephant doctor) but when he was half the age, he had killed his mahout in an aggressive bout of musth. Comparatively more research has been done on musth and elephant behaviour in free living African elephants than on the Asian species – not only with regard to chemical constituents in musth but also particularly with respect to vocalizations. Elephants communicate with one another using low frequency sound (infrasound; less than around 20 Hz frequency, the limit for human hearing). The human ear can, in favourable atmospheric conditions, perceive these elephant vocalizations as a low frequency rumble. Using special equipment, several such calls have been distinguished in the African species including one where musth males produce a characteristic call termed the ‘musth rumble’. The consequences of this sound have been analysed by Joyce Poole . Female elephants, which are in oestrus, respond by giving an ‘oestrus rumble’ and move towards the musth male’s call; females not in oestrus show active response while musth males respond aggressively. Non-musth males react by moving away. There has also been a lot of debate as to what extent the signals given, i.e .. chemical constituents and musth rumble, are really ‘honest’ (and not ‘faked’) in order to get mating opportunities and how this has evolved vis a vis signaling mechanisms in other species. The more complex these signals are, the more honest they can be for other elephants to respond suitably. However, there will be a cost to the giver in that his metabolism would have to be more rapid to give rise to these signals (see below). The consequence is that the body condition of the musth male deteriorates fast and thus he can be in musth only when in peak physical health. At such times, he may even be able to guard a few oestrus females and have exclusive access to them. In African elephants, it has been shown that both healthy condition and musth secretion are required for mating success. Fights between males do occur ifboth these factors are balanced only to about the same level and receptive females are not readily available. Since fights can also result in harmful if not fatal injuries, it may also be advantageous for one contestant to seek mating opportunity elsewhere or seek unguarded receptive females or bide his time. How the various factors vary with age has also been worked out. In the wild, the females form a group that is led by an old female or matriarch and others are related to her to a greater or lesser degree. The males on reaching puberty separate from the herd and seek females from other groups (which prevents in-breed-ing) for mating. The wandering males may form a small group with a dominant male and his ‘chelas’. The chelas don’t come into musth when the dominant male comes into the condition. It has also been shown that the musth secretion, serum or urine of sub-adult males does not contain testosterone and so there is no aggression. When conflicts arise between two musth elephants and one is driven away, the defeated male may turn into a ‘rogue’ elephant venting his fury on others, especially man, in a case of redirected aggression.

 

 

Physiology of Musth——————

 

 

The chemicals found in musth and other body fluids have to be produced by body metabolism. Starvation noticed during musth can itself change the metabolism and many of the compounds secreted may reflect this effect. This is possibly the cause for increase in ketones in the breath, urine and musth secretion. The source for testosterone in males and estrogen in females is cholesterol (produced by lipid metabolism). Hormones initiate the changes in the sexes leading to sperm production in males and ovulation in females at the appropriate time. The testosterone levels in the temporal gland secretion during musth reaches 0.5 mglmL and in the serum it is about one tenth of this. Other degradation products connected with lipid metabolism are also generated. For the production of high quantity of androgens, the cellular activity gets increased manifold. In a typical musth gland cell, the organelles connected with lipid metabolism like smooth endoplasmic reticulum, golgi bodies and mitochondria exhibit hypertrophy and ultimately, the cells rupture exiting the numerous cellular components in the musth fluid. In the secreting cells of the temporal gland, the mitochondria involved with energy exchange are numerous and have tubular cristae increasing the surface area for the many reactions to take place and are closely associated with lipids. Of all androgen secreting cells, the temporal gland ones producing musth, seem to have the highest density of mitochondriae with the highest density of cristae. The androgen testosterone is also considered as a pro hormone since dihydrotestosterone, a more potent androgen, is derived from it as also estradiol which in the brain, increases sexual desire, a noticeable condition in musth.

 

 

Is Musth Controllable?——–

 

Musth in elephants is a normal process. It becomes a problem only in the case of man-elephant interactions. Guidelines have been issued in Kerala (where many temples own tuskers for temple rituals), on care of elephants in musth to avoid harm to humans. The mahouts know that animals in musth misbehave bu t laxity on their part can lead to tragedy. Very often the animal becomes quite docile subsequent to the aberrant behaviour almost as if it regrets its misconduct and the mahouts consider this normal and a factor not to be held against the elephant! A drug, Leuprolide acetate has been tried to suppress the condition in captive elephants by reducing testosterone production. The same drug is injected to treat prostate cancer in humans where also it acts by reducing testosterone in circulation (one may end up with slightly female characteristics as the general androgen balance is upset). Obviously, long-term use of the drug can change behaviour in elephants (and humans!) More studies are called for in all aspects of musth; the ultrastructural pathology, the signals involved in transforming dormant cells to musth secreting cells, detailed physiology as also the behavioral responses and of course possible ways to control the aggression to the extent of preventing fatalities but not normal sexual behaviour.

 

Musth period is divided into three phases: pre-musth, mid-musth or violent musth and post-musth. Musth is a very dangerous period for handling. Elephants become aggressive and become out of control and cause damage to life and property. Musth management in captivity, has always been a problem. However, by taking some precautionary measures, it is possible to overcome this problem. Some measures are discussed below.

• It is essential to chain or restrict the elephant’s movements during musth on account of the violent behaviour. The chains have to be tested for their condition. The musth elephant is chained both by the hind and front legs. One of the fore legs is chained to any tree or a pillar in the front. This arrangement makes it safer for the mahout. He can approach the elephant from behind, to clean the tethering area, and also to move the chain from one leg to another
• Elephants may pull and fiddle with their chains during musth. They do not do this when they are not in musth. Therefore, special musth chains must be used. It is ideal to use a chain or fetter with 7/8″ diameter links. The chains also must be fitted with ‘ U ‘ shaped clamps with strong screws. There must be a distance of 2 feet, 60 cms between the tethering pole and elephant’s hind leg. The chains and fastenings must be double checked.
• It is also sensible to keep spare chains, for emergency. A circular loop called the thirukanni (a ball and socket like joint) should be present on the chain. This allows the chain to twist without breaking.
• During musth, elephants have to be chained for long periods, until it becomes safe for mahouts to handle. Thus the elephant may develop chain sores from prolonged chaining. Mahouts must attempt to move the chains up and down the leg, with a long pole. He must stand behind the elephant to do this. It may not be possible to do so with every elephant, as some may grab the stick or charge at the mahout. So chain sores, during musth , are inevitable. Some elephants on the contrary, remain docile and allow chains to be transferred, from one leg to another.
• The mahout must check the strength of the tree to which the elephant is to be tethered. The surroundings must be clean and hygienic. The tree must be large enough to provide plenty of shade
• Elephants must be left alone during musth. They are agitated by the slightest noise, from traffic or people.
• A water tank, with constant supply of running water, must be provided. It must be placed at a distance reachable to the elephant’s trunk. The tank must not be too close to the elephant, as it may destroy it.
• The elephant must be showered with water at least once a day, to cool it.
• The tethering site must be on a slight incline to facilitate drainage of urine and dung.
• The mahout must be present in the vicinity, throughout the musth period.

 

 

 

1. Pre-musth–Symptoms

 

• Engorgement of temporal glands.
• Discharge observed at the temporal gland openings. This initial discharge is a dirty brown, viscous fluid, with a strong smell. This fluid may sometimes block the temporal opening or the opening may be too small to allow free flow of fluid. Both these conditions, are very uncomfortable to the elephant . It may scratch the region with a twig or any other sharp object. This may injure the area and cause an abscess. The gland on that side may stop secreting fluid and will have to be operated. On noticing signs of discomfort due to blockage, the mahout must assist the flow, by squeezing out the fluid.
• The perineal region, below the tail, enlarges. This is a very obvious symptom.
• The penis will emerge to its full length and elephant will masturbate frequently. The penis strikes against the stomach, resulting in ejaculation of seminal fluid. Sometimes the penis emerges into its full length and trails on the ground. The mahouts may have to prop it up with a cloth, to prevent abrasions.
• Urine dribbles constantly.
• Elephant exhibits a tendency to gore any moving or non moving object that catches its attention. There is an intense feeling of vengeance towards mahouts. The assistant mahouts must be careful while approaching the elephant. Many ignorant mahouts are unaware of the danger. They get killed or severely injured, while approaching the elephant during this period.

 

 

1. Mid or violent musth-Symptoms

Initial phase of violent musth

• The secretion of fluid is slow and it is viscous in nature.
• Behaviour continues to be unruly. It disobeys commands and will react violently on hearing mahout’s voice.
• The body is stretched, taut and stiff. The trunk is extended forwards as if reaching out for something. The ears are spread out as if listening intently for sounds.

Middle phase of violent musth:

• The temporal fluid flows faster (like tear drops) and has a pungent odour like that of gun powder, and can be recognised from a distance.
• Some elephants may have a red colour around the temporal region.
• Behaviour continues to be aggressive. The trunk is beaten on the ground as an indication of discontent and anger.
• Tendency to pull more violently at chains and tethers.
• Lack of appetite. Some elephants are offered palatable foods like banana and curd rice during these times.

Final phase of violent musth:

• This phase may last for a month.
• The glands reduce in size and the flow of the musth fluid subsides
• Normal urination with protrusion of penis.
• The elephant becomes less aggressive and violent and may even start obeying commands.

III. Post musth:

• This is the final stage of Musth
• The gland is regressed and flow of fluid stops completely
• Urination is normal
• The behaviour reverts to normal.
• Mahouts must be continue to be careful while handling. The elephant must have restraining chains on its body, while being moved around, right after musth.

 

HANDLING MUSTH ELEPHANTS

 

Musth is a special condition in an elephant, where it exhibits violent tendencies. It is believed that during musth, an elephant remembers its days in the wilderness, and longs for freedom.

Some general symptoms of musth are mentioned below.

• Loss of appetite
• Temporal gland swells up.
• Even before the musth fluid is secreted, tiny seed like particles are exuded out of the temporal gland, during a scrub bath. This does not necessarily occur in every elephant. It is seen at a very early stage of musth
• Elephants sometimes scratch the temporal area with twigs.
• The penis is released from its sheath. This occurs more often when the temperature is cooler
• In some weak elephants, the swelling on the temporal region is clearly pronounced
• The eyes appear dull and murky. Elephants stare straight viciously at any object.

Musth, in bull elephants, has always been a management problem, for mahouts and elephant managers, all over the world. Musth reduces the utility of the animal, for at least three months. It is possible to control the onset and duration of musth to some extent, by some methods. It is common practise in Kerala, to maintain some elephants, in a perpetual state of weakness, to prevent them from going into musth. This is a very cruel practise and must be discouraged. Elephants that are over worked (ie. used both for logging and festivals simultaneously), will not go into musth, as the fluid draws back into the gland. This condition is uncomfortable to the animal and they become weak and exhausted.

When in musth, the mahouts cool the elephant by spraying water on its body. This helps the musth fluid to flow easily and quickly. Sometimes, the entire fluid may not flow out at once. In such a case, the animal may go into musth again in the same year. After musth, elephants are provided with a special diet, to improve their health

3kg of gingelly and jaggery mixed together can be fed to the elephant after musth, to improve its health. While under medication, the animal must not be allowed to work. Another mixture consisting of gingelly, a certain variety of fish, small onions can be given for five days. This helps in improving vigour. Gingelly must be used in small quantities only, otherwise it can raise body temperature.

 

Special musth odour:

Almost all elephants produce strong distinctive odours during the inintal phase of musth. The most common one being that of hen faeces. Sometimes the odours are pleasant too. Locals say that, elephants whose musth fluid smells like poovan pazham, (a special variety of banana)belong to theBrahmin caste, (highest caste in the Hindu religion).Other pleasant odours are those of ezhilampala, (Alstonia scholaris) or lotus.

 

Pointers for mahouts:

A mahout must know his elephant’s musth period, duration, and temperament during musth It is advisable to tether the animal in the early stages of musth. Mahout must be able to read the symptoms of musth and take necessary precautions. Arrogance and carelessness on his part will not only endanger his life but also lives of other innocent people. Elephants do not necessarily exhibit the same behaviour every year. A mahout may be working with a particular elephant for a long time and it may be docile, even in musth. Yet, it is wiser to take precautions to prevent accidents.

• Mahouts are forced by some owners, to work their elephants, even when the animal is in full musth. Under such stressful conditions, the mahout may have to take brutal steps, to control the animal. This has lead to the death of several mahouts and elephants.
• If an elephant is handled correctly during the juvenile musth period (moda), it may be manageable in musth, during its adulthood also. Such elephants are manageable even in full musth. Mahouts are able, to carry out regular activities such as, bath, fodder collection, and work, even in full musth. Musth should be a rest period for the animal and it must not be allowed to work, during this time
• During musth, elephants show a great animosity to their chattakkaran, (first mahout). The reason is because he is the only man, that the elephant fears. It is believed that during musth, elephants recollect all the pain and punishments and become vengeful towards the chattakkaran.
• After the musth has subsided, the mahout must be very wary before unchaining the elephant as it is almost like breaking a new, or wild elephant. The elephant may be aggressive and the mahout may have to use a lot of force, to control the animal. This happens because the mahout loses control over his elephant when it is in musth. Most mahouts tend to leave the elephant alone, once its been tethered for musth. This practise is not correct. A mahout must be around his elephant during the entire musth period. The elephant will therefore not forget his mahout.

 

TRANQUILLISATION

 

 

Tranquillising elephants running amok is a common practice these days in Kerala. This practice began only a few years ago. Most elephants cause extensive damage to property and life when they go out of control. Thus it is very essential to control and put them on chains as quickly as possible.

The Cap-chur gun or Dist-Inject is used for tranquillising elephants. The important components of the tranquilliser gun are adaptor, syringe, needle, plunger, charge and the 0.22 blanks.

The syringe is made of metal. A strong metal needle is placed on one end of the syringe and the opposite end is closed with a tail piece. A fine layer of thread or a feather is placed before the tail piece. A rubber plunger of about 3/4 th inches length acts as a piston within the syringe. The plunger has a recess on one end. The plunger is coated with lubricant for easy movement within the syringe and inserted within the syringe. The end of the plunger with the recess, should be facing outside the syringe. The charge is placed inside the recess. The syringe is then closed tightly with the tail piece. The required quantity of drug is measured and is poured into the open end of the syringe, until a certain mark. The needle is placed at the other end and the syringe is loaded within the projecteor of the gun. The adaptor of the projector is filled with the 0.22 charge and the darn gun is ready for darting.

The needle is aimed for the rump or the scapula (shoulder blade). On pulling the trigger, the charge in the gun explodes and propels the syringe forwards. The needle pierces the elephant’s skin, and immediately the charge inside the syringe explodes. This pushes the plunger forwards in a piston like movement and the drug is injected into the muscles. The needle has a collar or a hook which prevents it from falling down. The drug commonly used for captive elephants is Xylazine hydrochloride.

The elephant begins to feel drowsy after 8-10 minutes of injecting the medicine. Most elephants continue to wander around or stand still right after being shot. There must be absolutely no disturbance or noise in the neighbourhood, after firing the gun. Noise and disturbances in the neighbourhood must be minimised or it will delay the drug’s action. The first sign of drowsiness is relaxation of penis. A few minutes later the elephant falls asleep while standing and begin to snore. It is safe to wait for at least 45 minutes after injecting, before approaching the elephant. The elephant can be chained to the nearest tree. In the absence of a tree, or post, the elephant has to be dragged by means of a rope to the nearest tree in the area. Strong ropes are tied to the elephant’s both feet and the free ends of the rope are held by several strong people. The people pulling the ropes must co-ordinate their movement so that the elephant is gradually dragged to the tethering site. The tethering site should offer plenty of shade. Mahouts must frequently water the elephant’s head to keep it cool. The elephant resumes its normal activity of feeding and drinking water after about 4-5 hours.

The dart gun normally used for tranquillisation has a short range, which means that the veterinary doctor has to stand rather close to the elephant while firing his gun. On being hit by the dart, elephant usually run forwards in panic. But sometimes elephants do turn around to attack the person firing the gun. This endangers his life and so proper safety arrangements should be made to prevent mishaps.