975
Vet in the Forest
MESSAGE OF THE CHAPTER:
It teaches us that just like we show out
concern and love towards our fellow human beings so we should do it with the
animals as well.
A. Answer these questions
1. Who were in the team that went to Bishnupur forest and why did they go there? Who joined them afterwards?
There were three men in the team that went to
Bishnupur forest—SC De, Chief Wildlife Warden of the state; Subrata Choudhuri, the
tranquilising officer; and the speaker. They went to the forest to treat an
injured elephant. A veterinary officer, having no experience of treating elephants,
joined them afterwards.
2. How was the herd chased away? Why did it have to be chased?
The herd was chased away by a group of
villagers who shouted and burst crackers. The herd had to be chased away so
that the injured animal could be separated from it. The injured elephant could
be treated only if it was alone.
3. "Our new plan of action was to ask the enthusiastic villagers for help to locate our patient "
a. Who was the patient?
The patient was an injured elephant.
b. Why did the speaker's team need help to locate the patient?
The speaker's team needed help to locate the
patient—the injured elephant—because it had been moving constantly with the
herd and the speaker’s team did not know where exactly elephant was.
c. Which word tells us that the villagers were willing to help?
The word ‘enthusiastic’ tells us that the
villagers were very willing to help.
4. "We quickened ours accordingly. In about five minutes it's hind
legs bent under it's body, and then it slowly fell over
sideways and lay on its side.
a. What do they quicken and why?
They—they speaker’s team—quickened their pace.
They were following the injured elephant which had begun moving more quickly
because it had been pricked by the dart.
b. What lay on its side and why?
The injured elephant lay on its side. Subrata
had fired a dart gun with a tranquiliser at the elephant. The medicine took
effect in five minutes and the elephant fell over and lay down.
5. How did the vet treat the elephant?
The vet made a deep cut across the swollen
part of the elephant’s leg. It brought out a flow of black blood. Then he
treated the leg, gave the animal a shot of long-acting antibiotic, and bandaged
the leg. He also gave an antidote to the elephant, which would revive it.
6. "As responsible managers, we should have stayed around for the
moment of its revival". Do you think the speaker and his
team were irresponsible? Why or why not?
No, the speaker and his team were not
irresponsible. Although they wanted to stay around for the elephant’s revival,
they could not have done that because there was no tree that was strong enough to
support a machan where the team could spend the night. And it would have been
very difficult to spend the night on the ground with about fifty wild elephants
nearby.
7. It would be impossible
to separate the elephant from the herd and treat it”.
a.
Which animal is referred to in the above line?
The animal
referred to in the above line is an elephant.
b.
Where was the animal?
The elephant
was in the dense forest.
c.
What had happened to it?
It was badly
injured and needed immediate medical treatment.
d.
Who were there to treat the animal?
The team
consisted of the narrator, SC de, chief wildlife warden of the state and Subrat
Chaudhary, official specializing in tranquilizing animals.
8. How did the team
finally locate the injured elephant?
The injured elephant,
along with the herd, was constantly moving, making it extremely difficult for
the team to locate it. They took help of the villagers. A young man, belonging
to one of the local tribes, was feeding the injured elephant every day with cut
branches of trees. He offered to take them to the elephant.
9. Why did the team ask
Subrata to hurry?
Subrata had experience
in tranquilizing mostly monkeys, where time was not of essence. So, while
making the tranquilizing syringe ready, Subrata did everything neatly & methodically
taking much amount of time.
The team had faced
great difficulty in finding the injured elephant alone. It was very important
that they treat the elephant before the herd came back. So, the team asked him
to hurry.
10. How did the team
finally give medical support to the injured elephant?
It was extremely
difficult for the team to first locate the injured animal, as it was constantly
moving with the herd making it impossible for them to isolate it for treatment.
Later, with the help of the villagers they drove the herd away and isolated the
animal.
After initial
difficulties, the elephant was successfully tranquilized. The vet cut across
the swollen part of the leg that brought out the black blood from the large
abscess. After the necessary treatment of the leg, the animal was given a of long-acting
antibiotic. The team was tensed, as the elephant took a little more time than
usual to revive. after confirming that the elephant was in a deep sleep the
team left the place.
11. Do you think a veterinarian
needs to be much more skillful than a physician treating humans? Why?
It is important to
have the support & cooperation of the patient to treat them. Veterinarians have
to treat animals, who can become fierce & unmanageable. Extreme caution and
skill are needed to treat them.
Physicians, who treat humans may not face similar problems and they too speak the same language. Mostly human patients cooperate, as they understand what the doctor wants and hence treating them becomes easy.
Comments