This project provides foster parent care for orphaned elephant calves and prepares them for release back to the wild. Generous donations has helped raise $11430 to support Philip Dev and Rani's rehabilitation expenses for the last year. An elephantine thank you from IFAW-WTI! We are now raising funds for Philip and Rani for the new year 2013. Both of them are around 2 years now and their individual milk intake averages 21 liters in 24 hours. These young ones need a lot of taking care of!
Assam in northeast India is one of the richest biodiversity zones in the world and its numerous ecosystems are home to a wide variety of plant and animal life. A significant population of wild Asian elephants roam these forests. Unfortunately, Asian elephants are among the most commonly displaced species of mammals here. Annually, a number of them, mostly young calves but also sub-adults get separated from their natal herds due to poaching, conflict, and habitat destruction and fragmentation.
At the Center for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) in Assam, orphaned young elephants are hand-raised and prepared for a life in the wild. This 3 to 5 year-long process allows for prolonged acclimatization to the forests that is to be their home. India has a long history of elephant domestication and elephants displaced from the wild usually end up in captivity. This project has ensured that some orphaned young elephants are given the opportunity to live a life of freedom again.
Manas National Park (MNP) in Assam was declared a "World Heritage Site" in 1985 and acquired the "In Danger" tag after civil unrest devastated the park and decimated wildlife. Sustained conservation efforts under the project "Bringing Back Manas" bore fruit when UNESCO voted to give MNP back its "World Heritage Site" status in June 2011. The elephant reintegration program is a part of this larger project that commenced in 2002 and envisions restoring MNP to its former glory.
