Bengaluru: Tears rolled down the eyes of mahout Harish and other Bannerghatta Zoo staff as their much loved 32-year-old female elephant, Vanitha, which the zoo staff considered their daughter, died after suffering from diarrhoea early this week.
“She was in her middle age and had a 1.5-year-old calf. It has come as sad news for all the staff as she was born and raised at the zoo. She was much loved and cared for. Surprisingly, her calf has now been adopted by a 50-year-old female elephant, Lilly, which is the oldest female elephant at the zoo,” said Mr Santosh Kumar, Executive Director, Bannerghatta Biological Park.
“All the 19 elephants at the zoo are let free into the wild in the night. But we are keeping Vanitha’s calf at the zoo as it might get lost or fall prey to wild animals,” he said.
