Latha, temple elephant of Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The 60-year-old female elephant, Lata, who served in the Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatha temple for over five decades, died on Friday, March 8.
Lata was among the three female elephants serving in the temple. Lata was seen in Lakshdeepostava, the yearly temple festival, and other religious events in the temple. It has been unwell for the last three days. It died on Friday morning.
Deputy Conservator of Forests Anthony S. Mariyappa said since the elephant comes in Schedule 1, the postmortem was done by temple veterinarian Yatish Kumar under the supervision of Assistant Conservator of Forests. The elephant is suspected to be infected from speticemia and chances of it contracting tuberculosis cannot be ruled out, Mr. Mariyappa said.
Following the postmortem, the deceased elephant was buried by following necessary rituals, according to a release by the Shri Dhamastala Manjunatha temple.