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Elephantine
task Laughingly admitting that her “subjects” dangalanawa during the study, causing practical problems, she says the rectal probe insertion is particularly difficult. “The elephants tend to pull off unfamiliar objects and the specially-designed thermometer needs constant repair,” says Neshma. The swaying motion of the elephant too is a hindrance. However, her research is no joke, for slowly and surely, this slip of a woman from Horana, maybe dispelling popular beliefs about elephants through her scientific research and meticulously documented field work. “It is the first time that a study on thermo-regulation in elephants is being done in Sri Lanka, though a lot has been done on African elephants,” says Neshma, explaining that there are three species of elephants in the world, one in Asia and two in Africa. What are her findings that are turning the usual beliefs topsy-turvy? “Earlier we believed an elephant’s body temperature is lower than other domesticated animals, but my research indicates that it is much higher than previously thought. Other animals are recorded to have 101-101.50 Fahrenheit, and elephants were thought to have a temperature of 97.5-990F. However, I find that it is around 1000F,” she says. Neshma’s findings should have a bearing on the current controversy in elephant management – the big debate is whether caparisoned elephants should be used in festivals, as the fabric used for their dress maybe having an impact on their bodies’ thermo-regulation. Being funded by the National Science Foundation, her research conducted under the guidance of Dr. A. A. J. Rajaratne as Supervisor and Dr. Asoka Dangolla and Dr. (Mrs.) S. A. Rajaratne as co-supervisors, has a three-prong objective. To further improve captive elephant management Although currently there is no major need for artificial breeding in the conservation of elephants, a need may arise in the future, and along with that the necessity for more data on elephant physiology and anatomy. That is the need Neshma is attempting to overcome. In
domesticated animals, especially equines (horses), the body temperature
recorded by infra-red cameras is used as a diagnostic tool. If proper
research is done, the same could be the case for elephants, which
will be an invaluable tool also in the case of wild elephants as
it is a non-invasive technique The elephants’ temperature-changes in various parts of the body, in different climatic conditions, are recorded by Neshma, using a specially-designed digital thermometer, which is more sensitive than the regular one. “The deep body temperature is recorded through the rectum, and the surface temperature through the ear, dorsal flank and ventral body wall. Four thermocouples are mounted on to the elephant and temperatures recorded every half-hour starting from morning and continuing till evening,” she says, adding that measuring cutaneous evaporation (water evaporating from the surface skin of the animal) is also another aspect of her study. In elephant management, it is a regular practice to keep them in water, at least for two hours, to help them regulate their body temperature. This belief coming down from generation to generation, is being checked out on a scientific basis by Neshma, who takes the temperatures of the elephants before they are led into the water, when they are in the water and after they come out. Carrying out skin histology of elephants, Neshma has also taken specimens of skin, put them under the microscope and studied them, checking out whether elephants have sweat glands. “Many people believe that elephants don’t have sweat glands. Do they? If they do, how are they distributed? I wanted to verify these issues,” says Neshma, stressing that the sweat glands in their legs are placed just above the nail. “There are two types of sweat glands – apocrine and eccrine, the latter carrying out a thermo-regulatory function,” she says, adding that the next step would be to define which is which. Neshma’s groundbreaking research in a male-dominated field, began in 2002 as a final-year undergraduate under the tutelage of Dr. Asoka Dangolla, with domesticated elephants. That dealt with how elephants could be tranquillised or sedated intravenously. “When elephants get restive they have to be tranquillised, and most of them are pumped with drugs which could be risky for them as well as the handling veterinarian. We wanted to research a safe drug as a sedative, especially to be used in minor surgical procedures in domesticated elephants.” Sedatives are commonly routed through the muscles (given intramuscular). “We studied for the first time how we could give it intravenously,” she said. Elephant behaviour, calf management, how orphaned calves adjust to their new surroundings and take to the feeding bottle with powdered milk without suckling have all been her areas of interest. Although according to the last census in Sri Lanka, there are about 2,500-3,000 elephants, in areas excluding the north and the east, Neshma’s research and findings should come in handy, because these animals are an endangered species and have been included in the ‘Red List’ of the IUCN, an international conservation body. Such research would help in their conservation – otherwise Sri Lankan children in years to come may be able to see the majestic elephant only in pictures. |
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Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
Have
any idea how difficult it is to take the temperature of a wriggling
infant? Then imagine the struggle to use a thermometer on a massive
elephant, to take the temperature from various parts of its body,
including the rectum. 
