Mumbai: How routine pedicure keeps keep Byculla zoo’s sole elephant on her toes

The elephant pedicure in progress

While a lot of Mumbaikars are familiar with Anarkali, the sole elephant at the Byculla zoo, not many know that she gets a pedicure every two to three weeks. The procedure is carried out to prevent foot infections.

"The feet and nails of Anarkali are inspected for cracks and overgrowth every morning while bathing her. Nails are rasped and trimmed if they are found to be overgrown every two weeks," an official stated. Dr Sanjay Tripathi, director of Byculla zoo, said, "This is the routine process our caretakers do. To keep elephant foot infection free." "If the nail is not trimmed in time, it can break. This can lead to scarring and infection," he added.

Elephants living in the forest walk at least 20 kilometres a day and the friction naturally prevents the excess growth of nails. "However, pachyderms living in the zoo do not walk like this. Therefore, this treatment has to be done on them," the official added. According to the zoo records, Anarkali is 56 years old. In the wild, elephants can live up to 60 but in a zoo, they live up to 65 to 70 years.

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Suparna Ganguly, co-founder trustee of the NGO Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) & Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre, which runs an elephant rehab camp along with the Karnataka forest department, said the nails of captive elephants have to be trimmed because due to lack of natural multi-terrain landscapes, their nails do not get worn off naturally.

"They can grow to a point where it is essential to trim and cut them or the foot may develop cracked nails, deformities and additionally be painful to walk with. Elephants have a unique foot structure where they actually walk on their toes hence untrimmed nails can give rise to many serious problems that can become chronic in nature. It can start splitting when the pressure is high due to the elephant's body weight and nails and can collect debris and dirt underneath, leading to infection." Ganguly said.

The expert stated that if done regularly, it does not take much time to trim the nails. "It needs to be done expertly otherwise it can cause immense pain. Inexperienced mahuts should not be allowed to touch the nails. They have to be taught how to trim, cut and rasp the nails with special instruments, which keeps the foot in good health. I sincerely believe that elephants are the most difficult animals to keep in captivity. They do best in the wild where they belong! The kind of care and knowledge needed to keep elephants is rare, and hence they are in misery and abuse in most captive conditions," Ganguly added.

Dr S Ilayaraja, deputy-director, veterinary services of Wildlife SOS, a non-profit organisation, said, "If elephants' nails are not trimmed regularly, they will overgrow and eventually the entire body weight will fall upon them. In the wild, elephants walk for miles daily, so their feet are constantly rubbing in the dirt which helps keep their nails trimmed. But in the case of elephants in captive conditions, they are deprived of the chance to roam freely and are either made to walk on concrete surfaces or are tied up for prolonged periods and their overall health is neglected. Overgrowth of nails should be removed to prevent them from cracking, splitting and becoming infected, which can lead to lameness and other foot problems."

55
Age of Anarkali