Mysuru: The medic who keeps the Mastodons happy

Chamarajanagar: Handling the many elephants participating in the Dasara festivities in Mysuru is no easy task although they are already tamed in camps around the state. 

With animals being unpredictable, all care is taken to make sure they don’t go berserk, especially in the midst of the huge crowd that descends on Mysuru for the Dasara festivities and the famed Jumbo Savari with its caparisoned elephants making their way through the city.

Shouldering the responsibility is  veterinarian Nagaraj, who is attached to the Bandipur National Park. Having handled the Dasara elephants  since 2000 , he has made sure the  elephants are well behaved and in good  health for the last 17 years.

This year, the onus is also on Deputy Conservator of Forests V Yedukondalu , who is the in charge officer of the Dasara jumbos, to see that nothing goes wrong both before and during the festivities.  Monitoring the health of the Dasara elephants for years now, Mr Nagaraj explains that he sees that they are fed in morning and then taken for a walk on the route of the Jumbo Savari before being given a  bath and oiled on their head and feet.

“I attend to the elephants once in the morning and again in the evening and am always available in case of any emergency,” he explains.

Although there were attempts to transfer him, his experience in handling the Dasara jumbos put a stop to them.  “I am happy handling these elephants,” he adds.  As for Mr Yedukondalu, he says,  “Our responsibility starts the moment the jumbos leave their camps to come to Mysuru for the Dasara. We can  heave a sigh of relief only after they return to their respective camps.”