These are a few of the extraordinary narrow escapes some animals have had:
Dog Ramu was washed into a plastic pot by the huge wave, and this probably saved his life. He was later found still stuck in the pot and caught in the branches of a tall tree. Villagers cut him free, but he was still wearing the tight plastic ‘collar’ of the pot when the relief team arrived and freed him.
An orphaned calf was tossed into a well by the tsunami. The vets treated her for shock and dehydration and she was adopted by the delighted villagers who had lost all their other livestock. She was fed on leafy sugarcane from a stockyard that also provided fodder for 60 cattle found grazing on tiny patches of high ground in nearby villages.
An injured Olive Ridley turtle had a very lucky escape. It was spotted by a member of a local rescue team that was bringing bodies to shore after the disaster. Local people were trying to kill the turtle which they regarded as a bad omen. IAR rescuers saved and treated the stricken animal which had a large gash on its abdomen and was severely dehydrated. The wound is slowly healing but the turtle is not yet out of danger.
In the village of Padupettai, a woman came running out to greet the team: her bullock had been left for dead, but when her son was mourning over its body, he had seen it blinking. They were both overjoyed to see our vets who used fluid therapy, shock treatment and antibiotics to get the bullock back on its feet. Excited at their luck, the villagers began dragging out their surviving animals - about 30 bullocks were led in, followed by 20 goats. Dogs scavenging in the remains of relief packets were collared and dragged over for treatment. The owner of a goat named Rani said in astonishment: “Some one has come to help us get our lives together… that is all we need!”
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