Mathura: Sixty-year-old ‘Sita’, one of the elephants rescued from a Tamil Nadu circus 18 months ago, died on Friday afternoon at the Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation & Care Centre in Mathura. Its condition suddenly turned critical on Thursday night. The animal it breathed its last at 2.30 pm on Friday.The pachyderm was suffering from chronic foot problems and senility and under the care of a team of five veterinarians. Dr Ilayaraja, deputy director, veterinary, Wildlife SOS. said, “Multiple organ failure caused by impaired circulation due to severe senility is suspected to be the cause of death.”Sita and Mia were rescued and sent to Mathura by Wildlife SOS from Tamil Nadu. Sita was older of the two elephants. Its condition was a testament to years of mishandling and improper care.On arrival at the Elephant Conservation and Care Centre, Mathura, vets diagnosed it with suffering from a condition known as ankylosis, an ailment of the joints that had afflicted both its forelimbs. Vets found that it had suffered a fracture in captivity that had never been allowed to heal.As a result of this debility and neglect of foot care, Sita’s feet were in an extremely poor condition — its nails and footpads were overgrown and cracked.As a result, it could not lie down and rest, which is why the Wildlife SOS team created a special enclosure for her with padded walls, a bed of gunny sacks and a support pole to allow the elephant some support and rest. The pachyderm was being treated for foot abscesses and overgrown footpads with a regular doze of painkillers and antibiotics along with supplements for its kidney and liver.

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