India’s ‘granny’ elephant dies aged 88
An Asian elephant, reportedly the oldest ever in captivity, has died aged 88 in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
Awarded the title “Gaja Muthassi” (elephant granny), Dakshayani took part in temple rituals and processions for decades, but died on Tuesday after becoming reluctant to eat, a vet said. “At 3pm, a sudden shiver passed through her large frame beginning from the head region. After a few minutes she bent her forelimbs and lay down. And that was it,” T Rajeev said. The Travancore Devaswom Board, which owned Dakshayani, gave her age as 88.
The oldest elephant in captivity recognised by Guinness World Records was 86 – Lin Wang, another Asian elephant which died in 2003 in a Taiwan zoo. Captive elephants have a life expectancy of 40 years.
Pineapples and carrots had been introduced to Dakshayani’s diet recently to improve her metabolism after she began to have difficulty moving around, likely due to reduced eyesight. “For the past three years she didn’t take part in temple programmes,” Rajeev said. “A couple of months back we moved her to a better tethering place at an elephant farm in Thiruvananthapuram.”
Wildlife conservationists like PS Easa criticise keeping elephants in captivity, regardless of their condition.
He said on Thursday all animals should be released to their natural habitat and that bestowing titles on them did nothing for their wellbeing.
“All they want is to be in their natural habitat and have enough space to move around and sufficient food to eat,” he said. Wildlife experts say 15,000 Asian elephants – or one in three – live in captivity globally, often in dire conditions.
India has 2,454 elephants in captivity.
Ex-Travancore Board president Prayar Goplakrishnan defended the decision to keep her in captivity.
“Due to various practical constraints, we could not let her loose, but instead ensured she had more than enough space to move around,” he said. –