A pall of gloom enveloped the Mathigodu elephant camp, which comes under Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, when a 39-year-old male tusker collapsed and died suddenly on Friday.
Sources quoting the mahouts said Drona, the tusker, had been displaying signs of dullness since early morning. At noon, he was taken to the pool and was being splashed and sprayed with water when he suddenly swerved to one side and fell.
The mahouts tried to revive him and informed the higher authorities, but their efforts were in vain. Nagarahole Park Director K.M. Narayanswamy, who confirmed the incident, suspects that the elephant died of a heart attack. “The veterinarians have already reached the spot, but the post-mortem will be conducted on ,” he said.
Drona was captured in one of the operations conducted a few years ago from Madahalli Forest Range in Hassan district. The tusker had participated in Mysuru Dasara on two occasions and was described by his caretaker as “quiet and gentle”. Drona was 2.69 metres tall and weighed nearly 3,900 kg, according to camp authorities. There are 26 elephants left in the Mathigodu camp.
Drona is not to be confused with another elephant by the same name that was a legend during its time and had carried the golden howdah during the Mysuru Dasara procession 18 times. It belonged to the Balle camp and died in 1998 on coming in contact with a high tension wire while foraging for fodder.