Inside Vantara’s Cutting-Edge Elephant Hospital

During his three-day stay in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi commenced the construction of the Vantara animal rescue and rehabilitation center on Sunday in Jamnagar. As part of the itinerary in Invest in Vantara in Gujarat, he also visited the stunning elephant hospital, allegedly the biggest in the world.

Founded and operated by the Radhe Krishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust, the headquarters is able to house and heal three elephants at once.

Vantara houses more than two thousand varieties along with one hundred and fifty thousand rescued animals which are classified as endangered and even some rare species. The prime minister interacted closely with a few of the animals that were rehabilitated here.

The hospital has the most modern equipment; the complex is fully air-conditioned and has a treatment arena with two rubber floored operating rooms to perform intensive surgeries on the elephants. The sophisticated temperature and humidity control air conditioning system makes the environment inside the arena very suitable for treating sick elephants.

One operation area has a hydraulic platform, which raises an elephant lying on it up to four feet from the floor. This allows the operation team to work on different parts of the elephant's body for a long period of time without strenuous physical activity.

Additionally, the hospital has a crane that can lift the elephant to any corner of the treatment area, especially when the elephant suffers from a severe leg condition that makes it difficult for him/her to walk, or if the elephant is anaesthetized.

On one side of the treatment area, there is the Elephant Restraint Device (ERD) used for medical procedures. This device that has been imported from the USA consists of upper wall panels on both sides that can be opened and closed through hydraulics to securely restrain the elephant. The elephants are trained using positive reinforcement techniques to walk into it and stay inside.

Two side walls have different functional windows from which working on various elephant body parts can be done. There are also two portable hydraulic platforms which the medical staff can stand on with their equipment. These platforms are adjustable up to six feet above the floor which allows working on the higher parts of the elephant's body such as the back or forehead.

In addition, the hospital also has an outdoor enclosure where the elephant that requires close long-term monitoring can be accommodated. This enclosure also includes a hydrotherapy pool for elephants suffering from arthritis. This enclosure has an opening direct to one of the gates of the hospital so that the elephant can be taken to the treatment arena or to the ERD through the corridor with minimum stress to the animal.

The advanced diagnostic and therapeutic laser equipment, thermal camera, portable digital x-ray, therapeutic ultrasound, diagnostic ultrasound, electrothermography equipment, direct and indirect ophthalmoscopes, digital stethoscope, and an endoscopy unit equipped with the only colonoscope measuring 3.5 meters in the country highlights the ultra-modern equipment in the hospital strove amphitheater.

The most innovative feature, however, is an elephant hospital: a video conferencing system with cameras on the treatment area roof which gives visibility over the complete treatment setup and equipment layout and allows the team to do live video conferencing with experts around the globe in real time, even in the middle of surgery, whilst heated cam catchers enable the treatment to be broadcast without limitation. Furthermore, complex configurations assembled by the mounted moving cameras which are exclusive solely for video conferencing allow the viewer to constantly reposition the angle of view to any desired point.

The hospital is also a complete pharmacy, storage for medical equipment, medical locker, and changing room for veterinary personnel, washing room for autoclave scrub cleaning, veterinarian office, and fully equipped diagnostic laboratory including: a microscope furnished with a high definition video camera and screen, as well as an entire biochemistry and urine analyzer set, an analysis kit for biological samples including faecal and blood slides, and a seven-component haematology analyzer.

Vantara explained that biologists, veterinarians, and elephant supervisors will receive training and education in an optimal environment at the hospital. The treatment area is equipped with a large television set that shows images and videos such as x-rays, thermal images, and even the various stages of the procedures. Out of these images and videos, the most astonishing are those depicting the only CT scan of the foot of an Asian elephant captured to date! It provides a thorough depiction of the foot of the Asian elephant, including bones and muscle arrangements as well as several other supporting structures that are unique to its anatomy.

Since this also serves an educational purpose, an auditorium with 200 seats has been constructed adjacent to the Elephant Hospital. The large screen in this auditorium will be part of the video conferencing system, so the audience will be able to view live procedures from the treatment area. In addition, they will be able to interact actively with the medical personnel present at the procedure.

All stakeholders connected to Vantara understand that this journey is going to take a long time for us and all the captive animals housed here. And while their past might have been traumatic and far from perfect, at Vantara we strive to better their life And while we may never stop being grateful to the wild for helping us survive, perhaps serving them now marks the opening of a new phase of compassion.”