Jumbo care ! India gets its first dedicated elephant Hospital

What is Important?
From UPSC Perspectives
Prelims :Key facts
Mains:Highlights & Significance

Why in News?

The new hospital, set up by NGO Wildlife SOS, in collaboration with Uttar Pradesh forest department

Highlights:

• Located near Agra, the facility is in the Farah block of Mathura near the Elephant Conservation and Care Centre (ECCC) run by Wildlife SOS.
• The veterinary hospital has modern medical facilities for the treatment of elephants in distress including thermal imaging, ultrasonography, hydrotherapy, tranquilization equipment and quarantine facilities. 
• The Wildlife SOS Elephant Hospital is designed to treat injured, sick or geriatric elephants and is equipped with a medical hoist for lifting elephants requiring critical care, a pathology laboratory, digital weighing scale, Elephant Restraining Device (ERD) with a dedicated indoor treatment enclosure for longer medical procedures.
• With a built-up area of almost 12,000 square feet that includes an observation area for the overnight monitoring of elephants under treatment using Close Circuit Infra-Red CCTV cameras.
• Training courses would be organized by Wildlife SOS to spread knowledge on elephant medical care, humane elephant management and veterinary procedures to spread compassion.

Significance:

• It will go a long way to address the protection and conservation of elephants in India
• It is the vision of the two rescued elephants, as well as their foot injuries, which will be treated at India’s first hospital built exclusively for elephants.
• To provide critical medical care to all such rescued elephants.
• This is a huge milestone for elephant protection in India.
• This hospital will help us take better care of injured elephants in distress.