Bhaskar Choudhury

• Bachelor of Veterinary Science
• Medical Professional at Wildlife Trust of India

Hand-raising wildlife orphans require expertise and knowledge of the species concerned. In this paper, we describe the successful hand-raising of three golden jackal pups subsequently released back to the wild. The pups were nursed using a commercial canine milk replacer for puppies. The average weight gain of the jackal pups was 3.96 g (±0.32) per...

The nutritional variations of food plants play a significant role in the health and population dynamics of wildlife. The body conditions of vulnerable greater one-horned (GOH) rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) in Manas National Park, Assam, India deteriorate noticeably during the late monsoon to winter, and improve after routine grassland burning,...

Eleven free-ranging hog deer, one Himalayans row, two eastern swamp deer and asambar were anesthetized with varying dosages of Zoletil TM and xylazine HCl combinations in Assam between April 2019 to December 2021. The ungulates were received at the rehab centre (CWRC) with different causes of displacement. Fourteen of these 15 ungulates were releas...

The Newcastle disease virus (NDV) affects wild and domesticated bird species, including commercial poultry. Although the diversity of NDV in domestic chickens is well documented, limited information is available about Newcastle disease (ND) outbreaks in other bird species. We report an annotated sequence of NDV/Vulture/Borjuri/01/22, an avirulent s...

A total of 29 disadvantaged milk dependent Asian elephant calves were nursed with artificial milk formula with the intention of rehabilitating them back to the wild in Assam,India. The age group of the calves ranged from one week to about 36 months of age with55% (n=16) females. Being one of the toughest species to hand raise, protocols derived fro...

Newcastle disease virus (NDV) or Avian Orthoavulavirus-1 (AOaV-1) is one of the major pathogens of domestic and wild birds affecting at least 250 bird species. Despite the fact that all AOaV-1 members belong to one serotype, various NDV genotypes have emerged as a result of continuous virus evolution. The commercially available NDV vaccines are eff...

Newcastle disease virus (NDV), also known as orthoavulavirus 1, is an avian pathogen that was originally identified in 1926 [10, 16]. NDV infection has been reported in a wide range of birds with varied degrees of susceptibility [14]. Several countries worldwide, including Korea, India, Sri Lanka, Japan, Australia, and the Philippines, reported suc...

The leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) is one of the most widely distributed small cat species in the world. For the current study, 15 leopard cat kittens were hand raised between 2015 and 2021, and the challenges faced in rehabilitating the species were evaluated. During the hand-raising phase, 73% (11/15) of the leopard cat kittens sur...

Capture myopathy is a non-infectious disease that ensues when wild animals are subjected to severe stress when captured. Though the condition has been reported in mammals, birds and reptiles, it has been seen most commonly in cervids and bovids. Both physical and chemical captures have led to this iatrogenic disease with high morbidity and mortalit...

One free-ranging adult male Indian gaur (Bos gaurus gaurus) entered into a tea garden in Tarfat village, near Farkating of Jorhat district of Assam, India in May, 2020. Two villagers were injured during theirattempt to drive away the animal into the nearby wilderness areas. When this failed, the gaur necessitated chemical immobilization and translo...

Protected Area plays a very important role for conservation of wildlife in a highly populated country like India. Coexistence of 1.4billion people with many mega herbivores and carnivores is a good example of India's rich culture and tradition for conservation. Manas is one of the most unique landscape in the eastern Himalayas and very rich in biod...

Background India recorded the first outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) in North-eastern region (NER) in the year 2020. Aim The current study was undertaken to investigate the transmission of African swine fever virus (ASFV) in the wild boars of Northeast India, particularly of Assam. Material and Methods ASF suspected mortal tissue remains and...

Hand raised four Golden jackals of age around 6 months were observed with olecranonbursitis. Frequent rubbing/ trauma from the wooden floor of the refuge den was suspected to be the reason for development of olecranon bursitis. The case was confirmed by aseptic aspiration of content from lump. Later surgical intervention was planned. They were immo...

Newcastle disease (ND) is a highly contagious viral disease that causes respiratory and neurological signs in various avian species. It is caused by Avian paramyxovirus-1 (APMV-1). Although all APMV-1 members belong to one serotype, continuous virus evolution has resulted in emergence of multiple ND virus (NDV) genotypes. Vaccination is considered...

Newcastle disease (ND) is a highly contagious viral disease that causes respiratory and neurological signs in various avian species. It is caused by Avian paramyxovirus-1 (APMV-1). Although all APMV-1 members belong to one serotype, continuous virus evolution has resulted in emergence of multiple ND virus (NDV) genotypes. Vaccination is considered...

Newcastle disease (ND) caused by Avian orthoavulavirus 1 (AOAV-1) is a highly contagious disease of poultry affecting at least 250 bird species. ND has a significant threat to the poultry industry worldwide due to the economic impact on trading restrictions and its embargoes placed in endemic regions. The captive/ free-ranging wild avian species co...

A healthy population of the threatened Eastern Swamp Deer (Rucervus duvaucelii ranjitsinhi) in Manas National Park was almost exterminated due to politico-ethnic disturbances in the late 1980s that culminated with the formation of Bodoland Territorial Council in 2003. The Swamp Deer population in Manas began to revive with augmentation starting in...

A wild Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) calf of 5 months during the period of rehabilitation develops affection in the metatarsophalangeal joint of right hind limb, which became visible as vulgas angular leg deformity. Abnormal gait with lameness and frequent shifting of weight was the prominent sign. The affected leg was successfully brought into...

Bilateral corneal opacity was observed in a free ranging adult male wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee). The opacity had severely affected its vision, forcing the animal to depend on the sense of hearing and smell. The animal was chemically immobilized to facilitate a thorough examination. Both eyes were washed with normal saline and then subjected...

Rescue of young felid individuals particularly of Leopard which shares vicinity with human population. With data of handling of about 60 young individuals since 2008 out of which 13 (21.66%) were successfully reunited with mother, 13 (21.66%) were transferred to lifetime care facilities, 30 (50%) died while 4 (6.66%) were rehabilitated at CWRC. Thi...

This paper represents the first documentation of Bengal tiger and challenges encountered during chemical immobilization and translocation of two Bengal tiger cubs in Dibang Valley district, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Two darts of 2 ml volume each were prepared for both the cubs with chemical immobilization drugs viz., xylazine hydrochloride and keta...

With the advent of high throughput next generation sequencing (NGS) technology, it has become possible to study the diversity in microbial community of the gut with extraordinary resolution and accuracy. A number of sophisticated bioinformatics tools have also been developed to analyze the enormous data generated by such study. The greater one-horn...

Chaunocephalosis is an infection of echinostomatid flukes of the genus Chaunocephalus, reported among many species of storks across the world. The parasites lodge in granulomatous nodules of the intestinal wall, thickening it and narrowing the lumen, which in turn contributes to gastric impaction and death of the host. Storks form one of the main t...

Unintentional poisoning of vultures by consumption of livestock carcasses used as baits to eliminate carnivores like dogs still continues to be a threat to vultures in parts of eastern Assam. The Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation located near Kaziranga National Park, Assam has attended to 31 incidents of mass poisoning of vultures...

Capture myopathy is a non-infectious disease of high morbidity and mortality in cervids and bovids that ensues when they are subjected to physical or chemical capture/restraint. The Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) and its satellite units in Assam have attended to over 1000 cases of displacement of deer, of which 81% are h...

There is paucity of information on the management of parasite induced diarrhoea in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). In the present communication, authors has described two cases of parasitic diarrhea in Asian elephan ts with clinical signs, detail clinical-laboratory investigations before and after resorting to treatment regimens and documented t...

Gibbons are small arboreal mammals found predominantly in the tropical and sub-tropical forests they are social, territorial and vocal. Habitat fragmentation, conversion of natural habitats to cultivation, artificial change of landscape and poaching have caused a great reduction in their range eastern part of India. Gibbons that live as stranded...

Wild greater one-horned rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis), orphaned juveniles in human care, and orphaned calves from Kaziranga National Park, Assam, India were surveyed coprologically for gastrointestinal parasites. Parasite infections were present in 100% of wild rhino samples, 96% of orphaned juvenile samples, and 27% of orphaned calf samples. In wi...

Four captive elephants suffering traumatic injury due to infighting, predation and chain burn owing to restraining after musth were treated by bio-debridement. The elephants were allowed to wallow for half an hour before each dressing. W allowing caused the native fish in water to debride the wound regularly after the wounds were painted with povid...

Elephant endotheliotropic herpesviruses (EEHVs) are the cause of acute hemorrhagic disease in endangered Asian and African elephants. In the present study, we report the incidence of EEHV infection and associated mortality in the captive elephant of Assam, India. Our result showed the gross morphology and histopathological changes of EEHV infection...

A striking 97% population decline of the three endemic species of vultures in South Asia has been recorded since early 1990 with a possible threat of global extinction. This article puts into record of ten independent episodes of mass mortality and morbidity of Gyps vultures attended by veterinarians of Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conser...

A study was undertaken to find out the prevalence of bacterial dermatitis in captive Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) of Assam. Staphylococcus spp. was the predominant causative organism. Coagulase positive (S. aureus and S. intermedius) and coagulase negative (S. hyicus, S. choromogenes, S. caseolyticus and S. saprophyticus) bacteria were detecte...

Few have monitored translocated animals to determine its effectiveness and even fewer have tried to elucidate the reasons for its success or failure. Consequently, translocation has been heavily (and often justifiably) criticized as a management tool. Human-tiger conflicts in tiger range states of India occur, primarily, either due to their constan...

For the first time in the history of rhino conservation in India, three rescued orphan greater one-horned rhinoceros calves have been rehabilitated in an area that in the recent past was a good habitat for rhinos. The calves were rescued in Kaziranga National Park (NP) when they were about one to five months old when they were swept away by flood w...

Four elephants of 20-30 years age group, weighing 3-4 tons were suffering from tail gangrene. Three of them were dry gangrene and the remaining was moist. All the tails amputated by putting U shaped incision and disarticulation of joint under medetomidine-ketamine anaesthesia. The amputated tail end was sutured and bandaged. The tail was tied with...