Plea seeks rehabilitation of lone African elephant kept at Delhi zoo

NEW DELHI: On Monday, the Delhi high court sought to know authorities’ stand on a plea seeking the release and rehabilitation of African elephant Shankar who has allegedly been alone in captivity at the Delhi zoo since the death of his partner Bombai in 2005. A bench of chief justice DN Patel and justice Jyoti Singh issued notices and sought responses from the Centre, the Delhi government, National Zoological Park, Central Zoo Authority (CZA) and the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) to the petition.the court also directed authorities to consider a representation preferred by the petitioner in this regard in November last year.

The African elephant couple was a gift to former Indian President Shankar Dayal Sharma by the Zimbabwe government and they came to India in 1998. But

Shankar lost his partner Bombai, named after the wife of Zimbabwe’s ambassador, and has been alone for 16 years now.

The plea filed by 16-year-old Nikita Dhawan, founder of Youth For Animals (YFA), said the lone African elephant is a victim of cruelty and viciousness at the hands of caretakers at the zoo, and his present condition is nothing less than illegal imprisonment. Dhawan said it will be a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution if the animal is not rehabilitated in a sanctuary as his mental and physical health is deteriorating day by day.

The plea cited a 2009 circular issued by the CZA that banned the exhibition of elephants in zoos, as well as CZA guidelines prohibiting an elephant to be held in solitary confinement for over six months. The petitioner, represented through senior advocate Raj Panjwani, urged the HC to direct authorities to rehabilitate Shankar in a suitable sanctuary that houses other African elephants.the matter will now be heard on March 9.