In pursuance of High Court orders, the forest department had recently rescued seven subjugated elephants held in captivity and used to take tourists on rides by private resorts around Corbett national park. However, a past ‘owner’ of one such elephant has alleged that the forest department is not taking good care of the elephants. Speaking on the phone from Delhi, Faizal Ansari claimed that the elephant was a source of his livelihood and akin to a family member. He said that all those who were earlier in charge of the captive elephants had constructed tin sheds to shelter the pachyderms in captivity from the elements. However, the department has kept these elephants in a manner which is affecting the health and behaviour of the pachyderms. He further claimed that an elephant named Rani had repeatedly hit the wall of a forest post with her head, breaking the wall and also suffering an injury in the process. Meanwhile, the Devbhoomi Vyapar Mandal district head Anil Agrawal said that the ‘owners’ of the rescued captive elephants should be compensated by the authorities. Responsibility should also be fixed on the officials in case of an elephant falling sick or succumbing while in the custody of the department, he added. It is pertinent to mention here that the high court had directed lodging of FIRs against resort owners for mistreating elephants in captivity. The seven rescued pachyderms are being rehabilitated by the department on court orders.