MUDUMALAI: Nearly 28 elephants in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, tested positive for COVID-19 infection on Tuesday, June 8. According to the Forest Ranger of the Theppakadu Elephant Camp, all elephants between 2 and 60 years of age were tested for COVID-19 and the results are awaited. The samples were sent to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute at Izatnagar, Uttar Pradesh.
The testing of the animals was done as a precautionary measure after nine lions tested positive for COVID-19 and a lioness succumbed to SARS-CoV-2 in Arignar Anna Zoologist Park or Vandalur Zoo outside Chennai on June 3. The swab test was done on 56 elephants in the campuses of Coimbatore and Nilgiris districts. K Ramachandran, Minister of Forest, Government of Tamil Nadu, said that he has personally monitored the situation at Kozhikmudi camp in Topslip in the district.
The camp has 18 male and 10 female elephants, and four of them are aged ones. The forest minister distributed a total of Rs 3.5 lakh to families who were affected by this in the area.