Mysuru: The much-loved Dasara elephant Drona died at the age of 39, at Mathigodu Elephant Camp in Nagarahole National Park on Friday with the preliminary report on the death indicating cardiac arrest. Samples of the carcass have been sent for laboratory tests to determine the exact cause of death.
Drona had participated in the Jumbo Savari procession as part of Mysuru Dasara festivities twice in 2017 and 2018.
“Only a necropsy report will give us the cause of death," Range Forest Officer Santosh told Deccan Chronicle. Sources at Mathigodu camp said Drona was standing when he collapsed. The mahout (caretaker) offered water to the animal but he refused to consume it and died on the spot.
The tusker was in excellent health at the camp and was found grazing and mingling with other camp elephants. But at around 9 am, he began to look exhausted and collapsed near a watering hole at the camp. Immediately, veterinarian Mujib Rehman was called to attend to the animal but before he could arrive at the spot, Drona had breathed his last. Veterinarian Mujib said Drona was healthy and was never administered any injection during his stay at the camp. He was captured in an operation in Hassan district six years back before he was shifted to Mathigodu camp as his mild temperament made him perfect for the Mysuru Dasara festivities.
"If the jumbo was ailing and was under treatment, its death would not have shocked us but an animal in excellent health dying suddenly is shocking," said the veterinarian.
