Bondla Zoo bids goodbye to its only elephant Krishna

NT NETWORK

PONDA

After losing its hippo and tigers in the last two years, the state’s Bondla Zoo has now also lost its lone elephant Krishna.

Krishna, a male elephant, died in a mysterious condition in October and officials of the zoo kept the tusker’s death a secret until the visitors could learn about it, said sources.

Krishna was brought to the Bondla wildlife sanctuary in 1990 after it was rescued from the forest area of Mollem-Sacorda. The department is unaware about the exact age of the animal and officials say Krishna must have been aged between 45 and 50. “The elephant must have been aged 10-15 when it was rescued from Mollem,” said zoo officials.

According to sources, Krishna died on October 19 and the tusker was found to be ill since the previous day. The animal was kept away from the visitors since the last two months. Sources said the officials are unaware of the exact reason behind Krishna’s illness and death. Krishna was the only elephant in the zoo after the death of its female partner Radha, which died some ten years ago. After Radha’s death, no efforts were made by the zoo authorities to get a new partner for Krishna.

Confirming the tusker’s death, director of Bondla Zoo Vikas Desai said that Krishna died on October 19 around 12 pm at the zoo after a brief illness. He said that prior to its death, the elephant was going through musth period – a periodic condition in male elephants

characterised by a highly aggressive behaviour and accompanied by a large rise in its reproductive hormones. “Considering the condition, Krishna was kept away from the public,” he said.

Desai said that on October 18, Krishna stopped urinating. “Soon after, it was kept under observation but on October 19, it suddenly collapsed and breathed its last within a few minutes,” he said. According to the postmortem report, the elephant died of infection, Desai said.

When asked about the secrecy that was maintained about the elephant’s death, Desai said, “It was a bad incident for the Bondla Zoo, which has been losing its treasures every year. Considering this, the department did not issue any press release. But all the official procedures were followed.” After conducting the postmortem, the cadaver of Krishna was buried as per guidelines of the Central Zoo Authority, said Desai.

It may be noted that in October 2016, female hippopotamus from Bondla Zoo had died in an accident leaving its partner alone. The zoo’s tiger Rana died in December 2016 and tigress Sandhya died in June 2017 due to a chronic illness.