the 18-year-old could not walk properly and a crane had to lift her on to a truck for her journey to a new life. For, the elephant had been feeding on sugary prasad from temples and 200 vadapavs a day, and had become obese— at 5000 kgs, she was overweight by 1800 kgs. Laxmi’s companion elephant, suffering from similar health issues due to severe neglect, had collapsed and died in front of her eyes.
Today, she not only walks gleefully, but also plays in a pool and wallows in the mud as she has shed
700 kgs during her stay at Mathura’s Elephant Conservation and Care Center (ECCC) run by wildlife
conservation charity Wildlife SOS. She was put on a calibrated diet of green fodder and nutritious vegetables. The abscesses in her feet have now healed and Vitamin D3 supplements keep her arthritis in check.
“For a young elephant of 18 years, being 1,800-kg overweight could have severely impacted her ability to live,” said Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder of the conservation charity. Elephants life for 40 to 65 years.
“She had those mental scars (the companion’s death),” said Satyanarayan. “She was severely traumatised and frightened of other elephants too.” After four years of love and medical care, she has transformed into a gregarious and playful elephant. She is particularly fond of the bulls, and squeals with excitement whenever she smells or sights one of them while out on her walks. “She is the only one who squeals in this typical happy tone,” says Satyanarayan. She enjoys two walks every day with her friends– Bijli and Chanchal.
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