This report covers the months of July through September, highlighting the vital work of our incredible partner organisation, Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (WRRC), in managing the medical care and overall well-being of rescued elephants.
This report was prepared with veterinary input from Dr Suranjana Ganguly, Chief Veterinarian.
ECF Quarterly Overview Herd-Wide Highlights ● All seven elephants received individual veterinary care throughout the quarter, with each elephant’s plan tailored to her own history and needs. ● Foot and joint care remains the backbone of their rehabilitation -corrective nail trimming, sole care, laser therapy and daily joint supplements help ease the long-term effects of years spent on hard ground before rescue. ● Following routine blood tests, several elephants are receiving vitamin D supplements, and in September a daily joint supplement, probiotics and ashwagandha (a traditional herbal tonic) were added to some of their diets. ● Milestones worth celebrating: Champakali has gone four months without a seizure, Gowri showed no foot pain this quarter, Rani’s eye injury healed fully, and Gayathri has settled in well alongside the herd. ● New welfare measures are being introduced for Lakshmi, including a leaning bar to help her rest and an overnight molasses block to encourage better eating.
Daily Feeding at the Elephant Care Facility - All elephants at the facility follow a structured and balanced daily feeding schedule designed to meet their nutritional and behavioural needs. The day begins with 6 kg of sprouts (alternating between green gram and Bengal gram), followed by jaggery and coconut, and a fresh mix of seasonal fruits and vegetables. Through the day, elephants have access to green fodder such as grass or banana stems, with ragi balls and a final round of grass feeding in the evening and night. Lakshmi receives an increased quantity of fruits, vegetables and grass tailored to her size and health requirements, including an additional feeding round in the afternoon.
Daily Feed Schedule:
7:00 AM Sprouts (green gram / Bengal gram on alternate days)
7:15 AM Jaggery and coconut
7:30 AM Fruits and vegetables
8:00 AM – 4:00 PM Grass or banana stems (green fodder)
4:20 PM Fruits and vegetables (Lakshmi only)
6:15 PM Ragi balls
6:30 PM – 10:30 PM Grass (night feeding). A fresh mix of seasonal fruits and vegetables, chopped and ready for the morning feed
Clean drinking water at the troughs -hydration is a quiet but vital part of everyday care.
Enrichment Activities for Elephant Rehabilitation Elephant Care Facility -Enrichment activities at the Elephant Care Facility are intentional and structured interventions aimed at enhancing the physical health, psychological wellbeing, and expression of natural behaviours in captive elephants, particularly those undergoing rehabilitation after prolonged periods of neglect, injury, abuse, or inadequate care. In the wild, elephants spend most of their day grazing, socialising, walking, bathing, and interacting with diverse stimuli in their environment. Captive conditions often limit these behaviours due to space constraints, predictable routines, and the psychological impact of trauma. Enrichment at the facility seeks to bridge this gap by simulating key aspects of the wild and encouraging instinctive, species-appropriate behaviour. Free-roaming time in tall green grass- space to graze, explore and move at their own pace; cooling-off time together as a herd - the social bonds that are central to rehabilitation
Enrichment for Durga Elephant Care Facility -This quarter, the team set up new foraging enrichment for Durga. Sugarcane was wedged into a stack of old tyres, and pieces of fruit were tucked into the forks of a tree with sugarcane bundled around its trunk. Instead of simply being handed her food, Durga has to reach, search, pull and work it out for herself - much as an elephant would while foraging in the wild. Simple feeders like these keep her moving through the day and offer welcome mental stimulation. Sugarcane wedged into stacked tyres, set up under the pergola Facility Improvements Fruit tucked into the branches and sugarcane tied to the trunk - a tree turned into a foraging puzzle
This quarter, barricading works were completed across several key areas of the Elephant Care Facility: ● Around the pergola ● Along the stretch from the fruit stand to the quarters ● Around the treatment area ● Behind the new mahout quarters. Sturdy steel barricades create safe, clearly defined spaces in which the care team can feed, treat and work closely alongside the elephants, while keeping both the herd and the staff safe. Barricading lets the team work up close, safely.
Elephant Care Facility -World Elephant Day at ECF. To mark World Elephant Day in August, the WRRC team was joined at the Elephant Care Facility by officers and frontline staff of the Karnataka Forest Department. The elephants were treated to a special spread of fresh fruits, and staff received copies of an illustrated booklet on elephants in Kannada and English. The day was a chance to celebrate the herd and the people who care for them, and to share the message that every captive elephant deserves a life of dignity and good welfare. WRRC and Karnataka Forest Department staff marking World Elephant Day at ECF.
Conclusion: The quarter from July to September 2026 saw the Elephant Care Facility continue to grow as a place of recovery and rehabilitation. Alongside daily veterinary attention, tailored nutrition, regular foot care and a structured enrichment routine, the quarter brought meaningful improvements to the facility itself, with barricading completed across key areas, new foraging enrichment for Durga, and a World Elephant Day celebration with our partners in the Karnataka Forest Department. Across the herd, the quarter brought real milestones - Champakali passed four months without a seizure, Gowri was free of foot pain, Rani’s eye injury healed, and Gayathri settled well into life alongside the herd - while long-term conditions such as arthritis and foot problems, legacies of past captivity, continue to be managed with patience and care. Overall, this quarter reaffirms WRRC’s commitment to improving the quality of life of captive elephants through individualised, compassionate and humane care, made possible by the continued support of Animal Aid Abroad and all our donors and partners.