The medicine is the same as for people who contract the bacterial disease tuberculosis. But the cure is tailored for Madhubala and Malika, who weigh around 4,000 kilos each.
At first, they spat out the bitter tablets and behaved extra grumpily towards their caretakers, according to veterinarian Buddhika Bandara.
Treating elephants for tuberculosis is always a challenge. Every day, we try different methods, he says.
But the method of hiding the medicine in treats, also tested on human children, seems to work.
Caretaker Ali Baloch now gets up early every morning and prepares a rice and lentil stew mixed with sweet molasses. He rolls it into balls and inserts the pills into them. They wear protective clothing and mouthguards to avoid infection when feeding the elephants.
Around 500,000 people contract tuberculosis annually. According to Bandara, it is not uncommon for elephants to get infected from humans.<|start_header_id|>assistant<|end_header_id|>
The medicine is the same as for people who contract the bacterial disease tuberculosis. But the cure is tailored for Madhubala and Malika, who weigh around 4,000 kilos each.
At first, they spat out the bitter tablets and behaved extra grumpily towards their caretakers, according to veterinarian Buddhika Bandara.
Treating elephants for tuberculosis is always a challenge. Every day, we try different methods, he says.
But the method of hiding the medicine in treats, also tested on human children, seems to work.
Caretaker Ali Baloch now gets up early every morning and prepares a rice and lentil stew mixed with sweet molasses. He rolls it into balls and inserts the pills into them. He and his colleagues wear protective clothing and mouthguards to avoid infection when feeding the elephants.
Around 500,000 people contract tuberculosis annually. According to Bandara, it is not uncommon for elephants to get infected from humans.
