Perur temple jumbo treated for pain in jaw

Kalyani, the 29-year-old elephant from Perur Patteswarar Temple, had difficulty in consuming food due to pain in its mouth. Concerned about its change in behavior, mahout Ravi informed the Hindu Religious and Endowment Department (HR & CE) authorities.

Despite refusing food, the animal continued to remain active. The elephant was examined by Mahalingam, veterinarian of Animal Husbandry Department and A Sugumar, veterinarian of Coimbatore Forest Department and found out that the animal is suffering from excruciating pain due to displacement of its lower molar.

“Molar replacement is just a normal occurrence for elephants, due to which they undergo extreme difficulty in chewing the food. The fifth molar is now getting replaced causing Kalyani some pain. The animal has been administered with pain killers, anti-biotic, vitamins along with rice and green gram balls twice a day,” said an official.

Kalyani has been responding well to the treatment as swelling in the mouth has reduced considerably over the last couple of days.

“But still the animal is yet to recover completely as it prefers to be on a simple and easy to chew food like fruits. The elephant will get well completely in a few more days,” added the official.