Elephant giving birth during Dussehra duty in Mysore is unusual, at least in the last two and a half decades
Elephant giving birth during Dussehra duty in Mysore is unusual, at least in the last two and a half decades
Described as a ‘Dussehra gift’ ahead of the famous festival in Mysore, the 21-year-old Dussehra elephant, Lakshmi, gave birth to a male calf in the palace premises on the night of 13 September. Mother and child have been separated from the Dussehra Jumbo Camp. Veterinarians are monitoring his health.
According to a forest official, “Maa Lakshmi and the newborn calf are healthy and doing well.”
This is probably the first time in two decades that a female Dussehra elephant has given birth to a calf in the palace premises during the training of ‘Jambu Savari’. Generally, pregnant jumbos are not selected for Dussehra functions.
Lakshmi, who belongs to the Rampura elephant camp in Bandipur, was brought to Mysore along with eight other elephants in August as part of the ‘Gajpayana’. The Dussehra Jumbo Squad consists of 14 elephants.
“The mahouts and old-timers in the department are saying that giving birth to an elephant for Dussehra functions in Mysore is unusual, at least in the last two and a half decades. About 25 years ago, a female Dussehra elephant is said to have given birth, but this is yet to be confirmed,” said Deputy Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) V. Karikalan.
Mr Karikalan, who is in charge of the Dussehra elephants, told Hindu That no one, including the mahout, was aware that Lakshmi was expecting. “On the morning of September 13, we separated her from the jumbo camp knowing that she was in an advanced stage of pregnancy due to her unusual behaviour. We had to monitor his health. At around 8.15 pm, she gave birth to a child comfortably. Both the mother and the calf are healthy.”
Elephants have a gestation period of 18 to 22 months. As a result, pregnancy is difficult to detect in an elephant.
Forest officials check the health of each elephant while selecting the jumbo for Dussehra functions. “Normally, the vet or mahout knows about the pregnancy in the jumbo. However, we had no prior information about Lakshmi’s pregnancy. If we had, we would not have picked her. Like other jumbos, Lakshmi was taken care of with a special diet daily,” the DCF said.
Within a span of one month, Lakshmi’s weight increased from 2,920 kg to 3,150 kg.
Actually, the department wanted to bring Kunti in another batch, but the veterinarians told the organizers that she was in the advanced stage of pregnancy. This made room for 63-year-old elephant Vijaya, who joined the jumbo squad for the Dussehra festivities.
Lakshmi has now been dropped for Dussehra festivities, but the department is not considering a replacement as there are three other female elephants in the jumbo squad – Chaitra and Kaveri (Kumki elephant), and Vijaya. “We do not need a replacement, as we are using 10 elephants for Jambu Savari,” said Mr. Karikalan.
“The mother is feeding the calf. Next week is crucial for the calf,” the DCF said.
The elephant has a mahout and kavadi of Lakshmi.
Pramoda Devi Wadiyar of the former Mysore royal family visited the elephant camp on the morning of September 14 and inquired about the calf’s health.