Read the passage given below and complete the statements that follow:
1. Elephants are prone to many diseases. In the Ramayana there are references to elephants gripped by fever. They are susceptible to enteric fever, pox and foot-and-mouth disease. They also may get rabies when bitten by rabid dogs. The intense heat of north India does not suit elephants. In February 1962, a party of sadhus camped with their elephant outside a city. They could not provide either covering or shelter for the night and the animal just froze to death.
2. If an elephant catches a chill, he may get pneumonia or pleuropneumonia. When the body of an elephant is heated up through exertion in kheda, it is not wise to let him drink cold water or to bathe him. He may catch pneumonia or get colic pain. However, the practice in South India is just the opposite of this. There they give a newly-captured elephant plenty of water to drink so that he may cooldown.
3. When wild elephants invade human habitations, they eat up anything they come across flour, jaggery, even tobacco. Sometimes from overeating or from eating things that do not agree with them, they become ill with digestive disorders. Elephants have been known to have become so sick asto remain sprawled on the ground for days, being unable to move. In the Khara forest in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, once a Lone bull invaded the huts of the timber workers. It was the summer of 1966. The contractor had kept a provision of 200 kg of tobacco and 40 kg of jaggery to be distributed among the workmen. The tusker ate as much as he could of the tobacco and jaggery and then washed it down with four pitchers full of water kept there. Then the tobacco began to do its work. The elephant became giddy and collapsed. He was seized with an attack of diarrhea. For full 15 days he lay there as if in coma. After the tobacco had all come out with the dung that he had constantly been passing, he was alright again and he walked off into the forest.
4. Frequently the digestive tract of an elephant becomes infested with parasitic organisms. To rid himself of these the animal has recourse to some natural remedies, primarily mineral salts contained in earth and water. An elephant knows where such earth is to be found. These places are known as salt-licks.
5. There is a sickness in which the elephant begins to wear away. He becomes thin and emaciated and water accumulates in the pores of his body. When an elephant is in this state, he is usually allowed to go at large and to graze at will.
6. In May 1967, I saw an elephant-cow in the Terai forests of Uttar Pradesh which had a great bump on her left hind leg. She walked with a limp and was always left behind when the other elephant soft the herd had to run from some possible Danger. The bump could have originated either from a fracture that had now healed or from some abscess or tumor. Elephants are also subject to gout, which gives them a limp.
7. Elephants, when they are first caught in the jungle, often sustain manifold injuries. These may be caused by their falling into pits dug for them or from the ropes which are used to secure them. Some of the cuts are so deep in appearance that an inexperienced person may become shocked to look at them. They are in fact not very serious and heal very quickly. Wounds caused by the ropes are often more serious. Great care has to be taken that ropes do not cut into the tendons and nerves of the elephants and as soon as the animal is secure in the camp, the ropes are loosened.
8. The very strength of a large tusker acts against him in a kheda. The more he struggles, the wider and deeper the injuries that he may sustain. Much force and severity are needed to bring him under control.
9. Wounds caused by ropes on the neck and feet are common. After the elephant has been captured, it is necessary to see that these parts are kept free of ropes.
10. As far as possible an elephant should be kept from falling. He may get injuries on the elbow which may become septic or the tusks or tushes may get broken and cause troublesome wounds in the jaw or on the trunk. Sometimes the friction from the rope causes deep cuts on the neck. And when wounds on the legs and feet become septic, the smell is so foul that it is difficult to stand near the animal. Flies begin laying eggs in the open wound and the condition of the animal worsens from day to day. He cannot even lie down; he cannot sleep. When there are signs of gangrene setting in, it is best to set the elephant at liberty.
(a) Elephants may get rabies _________.
(b) An elephant may get pneumonia or ________ if he catches a chill.
(c) He may suffer from digestive disorders if ______.
(d) Mineral salts found in the earth help an elephant to rid himself of _____.
(e) An elephant is allowed to graze at will when ______.
(f) Injuries suffered by elephants when they are first caught are caused by ______.
(g) To bring a captured elephant under control ______.
(h) When an injured elephant shows signs of gangrene he
______.
(i) Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following:
(i) severe (Para1)
(ii) attack (Para3)
