TIRUNELVELI
The 18-year-old elephant of Thiruvilanji Kumarar Temple at Ilanji, Valli, died on Tuesday night reportedly due to ailment.
After the devotees paid their last respects to Valli, a team of veterinarians attached to Forest department conducted a post mortem on Wednesday, and the carcass of the elephant was buried near the temple.
Two elephants, Deivanai and Valli, donated by a devotee in 2006, were housed at Kumarar Temple in Ilanji near Shencottai in the district. In 2008, Deivanai died at the age of 13 and the temple officials then cited “ailment” as the reason for the death.
Now, the shrine lost its second elephant, Valli, which attended the annual rejuvenation camp organised by Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department at Thekkampatti near Mettupalayam.
“When the elephant, which was suffering from some undisclosed ailment, was taken for a walk in the night, it collapsed on the outer corridor of the temple. The veterinarians were informed only after repeated attempts to bring the elephant back to normalcy by sprinkling water failed. And, the death was confirmed in the night,” said sources in the temple.
The sources lamented that proper line of treatment by qualified veterinarians might have saved the elephant. Devotees visiting the temple regularly too endorsed this view.
Even as news of the sudden collapse of Valli was shared on social media platforms, temple authorities refused to confirm its death when contacted on Tuesday night. When a senior Forest department official here was contacted, he said: “It was a 50-year-old elephant… might have died of old age.”
Meanwhile, the 46-year-old Gandhimathi, elephant of Swami Nellaiyappar Temple here, underwent a ‘full body check-up’ at the veterinary hospital at Sripuram on Wednesday. Though officials termed it a “routine health check,” it is learnt that the sudden demise of Valli might have advanced the scheduled check-up.
