Elephant Health Camps
Elephant Care International organizes and sponsors free health camps, which provide veterinary care to groups of elephants. Elephants are weighed and receive thorough physical exams. Blood is collected for general health screening and to check for TB. Fecal samples are screened for parasites. Medication, supplementation, and treatment are provided. Our Elephant Health Camps also provide educational opportunities for veterinary students.
Click or hover on images below for captions.
India Health Camps
Two Days, Twenty-eight Veterinarians ~
Learning to Care for Asian Elephants
February- March 2025
Drs. Susan Mikota and Willem Schaftenaar recently joined with veterinarians in India to conduct an International Elephant Health Care Workshop in Assam. The two-day workshop was organized by Wildlife SOS, in collaboration with the Assam Forest Department. Twenty-eight veterinarians attended.
Dr. Mikota lectured on pain management, gastrointestinal problems, and wound care. Dr. Schaftenaar’s topics included foot care, lameness, ophthalmology, and a presentation about a possible vaccine against elephant herpesvirus. Dr. N.S. Manoharan, Dr. Bhaskar Choudhury, Dr. Munmun Sarma, and Dr. Arun A. Sha presented on human-wildlife interactions, neonatal care of orphan elephants, anatomy, and welfare, respectively. Dr. K.K. Sarma discussed surgical interventions, and musth management.
Six Days, 80 Elephants ~ Elephant Health Camps
Elephant Health Camps followed during which workshop instructors and participants teamed up to conduct elephant health examinations and provide care. The first three-day camp was held at Kazaringa National Park and Tiger Reserve, a World Heritage site and included both government-owned and private elephants. In addition to physical exams, elephants received foot care and worming medications and treatment of any noted medical problems. The second three-day camp was held at Manas National Park and provided health care services to the patrol elephants that live there.
The Health Camps were an extension of the workshop and provided practical experience for the participants, reinforcing much of the information that was presented during the workshop while also providing a service to the 80 elephants that were examined.
The Wildlife SOS Mobile Clinic made its debut during the Elephant Health Camps.
Nepal Health Camps
Elephant Care International collaborates with the National Trust for Nature Conservation and the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) in Nepal.
ECI's Dr. Susan Mikota works with government-owned elephants used to patrol the national parks and privately-owned elephants used for tourism. She provides medications, conducts free elephant health camps, and was instrumental in establishing a TB program.
Since 2006, Susan has trained and supported Nepali veterinarians, preparing them to lead the next generation of elephant welfare specialists, and has treated more than 25 elephants for tuberculosis (TB).
In January 2015, ECI sponsored an Elephant Health Clinic for government and private-owned elephants in Chitwan. Dr. Susan Mikota and ECI’s Nepal Veterinary Technian, Barb Vincent, worked with wildlife veterinarian Dr. Kamal Gairhe, ECI’s TB program veterinarian Amir Sadaula, Dr. Shyam Sharma, recently retired from the army, and Nepal veterinary technicians to examine over 50 elephants.
We were pleased to have four students join us at our health clinic in Nepal. They helped with elephant physicals, learned how to collect blood, and gained experience in the lab running tests for parasites and anemia. This was the third health camp that ECI has organized in Nepal.
In March and September of 2021, ECI co-sponsored two important health camps, providing much-needed veterinary care, treatment, foot care, and medicine to nearly 150 government-owned elephants living in six national parks throughout Nepal during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lack of tourist income for more than a year left few resources available to pay for proper healthcare. Many elephants were in dire need of veterinary services. So ECI and its partners raised funds to support two comprehensive health camps in 2021, which were organized and carried out by the National Trust for Nature Conservation, Biodiversity Conservation team. Read more: March 2021 Health Camp / November 2021 Health Camp.
Sri Lanka Health Camp
Sri Lanka’s annual Perahera is a busy and often stressful time for captive elephants, which come from all over Sri Lanka to Kandy to participate in this week-long event. For Dr. Mikota and veterinary faculty and students from the University of Peradenya, it was an opportunity to conduct a health camp in 2017.
Our team worked over the course of several days to examine elephants that had gathered at the Katargama, Vishnu, Natha, and Pattini Temples and the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic.
We evaluated body condition, dispensed de-worming and other medications and consulted with owners and mahouts on skin infections, digestive disorders, and foot and eye problems.
The blue “Tranquilization Team” vests in the images below identified us as members of the veterinary care team. In the evenings during the festival, our team was on duty in case of any emergencies. Read more about our work in Sri Lanka.
Please consider a donation to help us carry out more elephant health camps. DONATE HERE!
