The Transit Home is a lively place. Feeding milk to the calves every three hours is a recurring job on all 365 days of the year. Elephant calves at ETH are fed once every three hours. ETH turns into frenzy if the feeding times are delayed; the pathetic cry and the charges of elephants for milk is agonizing to hear. Getting the orphaned elephant calves adapted to milk powder and a whole new environment requires utmost patience and care, as there is still no special milk formulae that has been introduced for elephants.In general the calves are fed human baby milk formulae. After the initial milk feeding sessions of finding out the best milk formulae for elephant calves – to suit them individually, the elephants are at a higher risk of falling sick with digestive problems or milk intolerance. In those instances special preparations like soya milk, rice broth or jeevanee (a rehydration solution) are provided in place of milk to bring them back to normalcy.
