Her name was Dakshayani, but she was also known to everyone as Gaja Muthassi, or elephant grandmother. The oldest elephant kept in captivity has recently died in India.
Her name was Dakshayani, but she was also known to everyone as Gaja Muthassi, or elephant grandmother. She is dead these days in India the oldest elephant held in captivity in the world.
The specimen was believed to be the oldest in the world among those held in captivity and was in India where it died last week at the ripe old age of 88. His is a more unique than rare case given that captive elephants generally live an average of 40 years.
However, Dakshayani also managed to surpass the previous Guinness World Record holder, Lin Wang, an elephant kept in captivity in the Taiwan Zoo and died at 86 in 2003.
The elderly elephant lived near the Chengallur Mahadeva temple in the state of Kerala, South India, and had taken part in many rituals, processions and various ceremonies including weddings, but not in the last 3 years as she was too old and he couldn't move well. Precisely because of her seniority, in her years she had also earned the title of elephant grandmother.
The elephant started refusing food in the previous week (in recent times it was mainly fed pineapple or carrots) and died last Tuesday at the Elephant care center of the Travancore Devaswam Board.
After her death, the elephant, who was very famous in the area and much loved, was covered with flowers and fabrics, watched over and finally buried.
On this occasion, animal welfare organizations from all over the world recalled that, despite what it might seem, the elephant was in fact a prisoner all her life.
But now she is finally free and can rest in peace.
Read also:
- Enough Phajaan, the exploitation of elephants for tourism. The petition against TripAdvisor and Lonely Planet
- Let's save Fuko, the lonely elephant from the Japanese zoo (PETITION)
- Indian women who create sweaters to protect elephants from abnormal cold (PHOTO)
