Kerala has bid adieu to its ‘Gaja Muthassi’ (grandmother of elephants), who was witness to generations grow up before her.
Eighty eight-year-old Chengalloor Dakshayani, the oldest living Asian elephant, died after collapsing in her shelter at Sathyan Nagar in Pappanamcode by around 3 p.m. on Tuesday.
The female elephant, under the possession of the Chengalloor Mahadeva Temple, was the oldest among all captive elephants managed by the Travancore Devaswom Board.
Owners
Dakshayani was initially owned by the royal family of erstwhile Travancore, which obtained the elephant when it was five from the Konni elephant camp. It was then donated to the Thiruvarattu Kavu at Attingal a year later, following which it was shifted to the Chengalloor Mahadeva Temple. The Forest department had officially pegged the elephant’s age at 76 on August 18, 2007.
The Devaswom Board had formally accorded the title of ‘Gaja Muthassi’ to the elephant with much fanfare in July 2016. A special postal cover was also released by the India Post to mark the occasion. Though subsequent efforts had been made to obtain the Guinness record for the oldest living elephant in captivity, they were futile.
No ailment
According to Devaswom veterinary surgeon T. Rajeev, who supervised the elephant’s health regime for around 10 years, Dakshayani suffered no significant ailment or lack of appetite during the last days. Nevertheless, during the last few months, her diet included pineapple and carrot to improve metabolism.
Reminiscing about the grand old elephant, Dr. Rajeev said handling her was not very difficult. Her nature endeared her to many people and many travelled long distances to catch a glimpse of the elephant. “Only the sight of a needle used for injection could create a sense of fear or hostility in her,” he said.
The elephant’s post-mortem will be held in the presence of Forest Department and Devaswom Board officials on Wednesday.
