coimbatore the life of the 25yearold makhna elephant roaming in mannarkkad forest range near siruvani reservoir is literally hanging in balance forest officials from kerala and government veterinary experts have ruled out surgery to remove the external tumour the main source of its agony due to the risks involved the animal has been living with a recurring benign tumour for the last eight years and was twice tranquilized and treated by veterinary doctors in kerala but in vain till now tamil nadu forest officials had no cause to interfere in the matter as the elephant was not roaming within their limits although kerala officials have tried to justify the translocation operation of the tumourridden animal from the highly populated wayanad to the less crowded siruvani area in may 2013 opposition has been brewing against the move to relocate an animal with a tumour condition performing such a critical surgery and that too on the abdomen is a very risky procedure the tumour is in a position where the entire weight of its internal organs is concentrated and there is the danger of muscle rupture after the surgery where its innards including intestines might spill out said a senior veterinary expert from kerala veterinary experts say that conducting such a surgery involves high risk as the wild elephant has not been kept in captivity like those in forest camps the makhna elephant had already been darted thrice twice for medical treatment and once for radio collaring with a gps tracker in 2012 making another tranquilizing attempt extremely risky considering its present health condition this elephant was a passive and docile animal when it used to be in mudumalai forest range and wayanad but then it started raiding crops and thus it was translocated to the mannarkkad range near siruvani said n mohanraj policy advisor wwfindia who has been tracking the elephant for the past couple of years veterinarians from kerala forest department claimed that even if a surgery is performed the elephant has to be kept in captivity for 25 days for post surgical treatment keeping it in a krall elephant cage would be highly risky besides the elephant has to be tranquilized again for its wounds to be properly dressed a senior government vet also added that the animal should be maintained in the same position to ensure that the surgical wound remains intact till complete recovery kumki elephants will have to be roped in from tamil nadu and such a procedure is not generally recommended in addition the hilly and uneven terrain also makes sedation a risky procedure we are tracking the elephant it is in pain because of its condition but otherwise it is healthy it will survive for some more years said dr arun zachariah forest veterinary surgeon kerala forest department if human intervention is planned the concerned officials should take a quick decision and ensure proper facilities to perform the procedure said jacob cheeran an elephant expert dr ba daniel secretary of zoo outreach a wild