Banned In 2007 !

Check the temperature every day for the next week in Mumbai, exactly at 12.00 noon. That's when this elephant was being walked down the main road in the middle of Powai, day before yesterday. The road surface is burning hot but that doesn't matter to the "mahouts" sitting high up in the air, on the poor creature's back.
Of even less interest to them is the ban that was instituted in July 2007 on plying captive elephants on city roads. This has been so ineffective, that the senior-most forest official himself has expressed helplessness and suggested that the ban be lifted!
IDA India is taking action against this. Forest officials are supposed to be qualified to deal with any problem regarding wildlife and we want to remind them that this specific problem, namely captive elephants being made to walk all over Mumbai and the surrounding areas, whatever the weather, however heavy the traffic and the crowds of people all over the place, had better be dealt with, and fast. Maharashtra has no Rescue Centre for elephants and we are campaigning for one to be opened. If this happens, then the forest officials can arrest the mahout and offending "owner" of the animal, fine them, imprison them for keeping the elephant captive in the most horrendous conditions, and finally send the rescued elephant to the Rescue Centre.
At present they are 'helpless' because nobody, namely the police and the forest officials, knows what on earth to do with an elephant that they might rescue.

IDA Foster Kitten at "Home"

This pretty kitty is in fine shape and health thanks to the foster care she has been enjoying in IDA volunteer, Karan's home. When she first went into foster care, straight from the Centre, where she had been living for about two weeks, she was very sick with a terrible cold and chest. But with Karan's devoted care and nurturing, she managed to shake off the life-threatening symptoms and now is as playful as curious as any normal kitten usually is. Check out the first picture, where she manages to sit very comfortably, inspecting everything on the small table.
She loves to lounge on the comfortable bed or couch, and again, like any other cat, sitting in absolute comfort, she looks a pure work of art.
She's waiting to be adopted. As soon as she finds a permanent home, Karan will take another needy kitten home to foster. He's a wonderful example to all who are toying with the idea of fostering a small animal. He doesn't hesitate and enjoys the whole experience. Way to go, Karan! May your tribe increase!!

Alyosius Club Visits the IDA Centre

This small band of intrepid visitors made it to our Deonar Centre on 23rd October, to meet the different types of animals and find out about the work we do. After a small session in the garden when they were informed a little about how IDA India started and the many projects it is engaged in at the moment, the group had a conducted tour of the premises.
There are two picture because both include the resident dogs. In the first you can see two oldies. In the second, check out the German Shepherd. He's a magnificent looking dog, and he is at the Centre because he was abandoned. He happened to develop the sad medical condition that many GAs suffer from. His back legs are weak and bent. This is a genetic defect due to careless breeding.
Also in the pictures are Dr. Nitin, in pale orange shirt, and Selvi, our capable Assistant who is in charge of the puppy pen. She's near Dr.N, and dressed in blue.

These good people enjoyed the visit and brought a lot of goodies for the dogs and cats. We like to have visitors - all feedback we receive is valuable as it helps us to try and keep on improving the way the Centre is run.

Ginger Still in Foster Care

Don't miss Ginger's tail. It's one inch long and is his unique feature! He also has a lovely coat, yes it's a nice ginger colour and he also has beautiful orange eyes. As you can see from the first picture, he's quite a wretch and very playful. This is one of his favourite 'fetch' toys and he can play this game endlessly. It is one way of giving him extra exercise - he is growing by leaps and bounds and needs a lot of vigorous play, besides three walks a day.
He has learnt to a walk on the leash and does it quite stylishly.This is his favourite place to sit as he loves the great outdoors. Loves checking out birds and feeling the cool breeze as he watches the world go by. As all motherless pups who lack immunity, Ginger had developed a bad skin problem earlier, but he has completely recovered now and looks great. Now he is just waiting to be adopted.

Young Volunteers at Work : Deonar

There was plenty of help at IDA Deonar on Friday and Sunday and the young animals had a nice time being bathed, groomed and then getting nice and warm, sitting on the garden bench.
Pathir and Manoshri saw to the tiny pups, one of whom just needed to be held. that's a wonderful benefit to the infant, in itself, feeling the warmth of another living being. The two kittens in the first picture are beautiful but both of them have paralysed back legs. They are given a vigorous 'half' bath during which the hind quarters are massaged and well washed. This helps their stomachs to work a bit, as there is no natural movement whatsoever in the lower half of their bodies. Then they are dried and placed on the hot garden bench in the sun. They enjoy this and it really helps them to warm up. They often take a dive off the bench. These kittens are surprisingly agile! We take care to see that there are no big dogs around.
Our other volunteer, Sayanthani works during the week and spends some of her Sunday holiday helping out at the Centre. That's devotion for you! After doing a lot of other work, you can see her encouraging the puppies to play in the puppy pen.
Look closely at the last picture and look who is sharing the bench with the two volunteers and the pups - the little paralysed kitten!