Shankar, the lonely elephant: Will his new companions ease his stress?

Shankar, a diplomatic acquisition from Zimbabwe successful 1996 to past Indian president Shankar Dayal Sharma, arrived successful Delhi successful 1998 with Vimbai, a pistillate African elephant. But Vimbai died successful 2001 and a young Shankar was near each alone.

Zoo Director Sanjeet Kumar said Shankar was initially moved to the enclosure of the Asian elephants but arsenic helium reached adolescence, successful 2012, helium was separated and kept successful a specially built African Elephant Enclosure. Since then, helium has stayed successful isolation, distant from the 2 Asian elephants successful the zoo.

In 2010, the Delhi zoo wrote to parks successful Africa seeking either a mate for Shankar oregon asking them to instrumentality him back. But the efforts yielded nary results.

Shankar, a diplomatic acquisition from Zimbabwe successful 1996 to past Indian president Shankar Dayal Sharma, arrived successful Delhi successful 1998 with Vimbai, a pistillate African elephant. (Photo credit: Dr. Abhijit Bhawal)

The determination to get companions for Shankar comes successful the backdrop of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) suspending the rank of the Delhi zoo for six months implicit concerns that Shankar was allegedly ill-treated portion helium was successful ‘musth’ – an yearly information erstwhile bull elephants typically amusement assertive and unpredictable behaviour owed to a spike successful their testosterone levels. Shankar, whose musth lasted from July to September this year, had been restrained during this period, starring to a concatenation pain wounded and prompting authorities to tranquilise the animal. The wounded and the resultant accent to the elephant had led to concerns from WAZA and carnal experts astir its alleged ill-treatment.

A elder Delhi zoo authoritative said that though Shankar is successful a abstracted enclosure, they person ensured that helium has “visual contact” with the 2 Asian elephants successful the zoo — Rajalakshmi and Hira Gaj. “We bash not support (the Asian and African) elephants successful the aforesaid enclosure… successful bid to support taxon purity. But this does not mean Shankar is kept successful isolation. When helium was younger, we utilized to instrumentality him for walks with the Asian elephants. Though the enclosures are antithetic now, Shankar is inactive occasionally taken for walks to instrumentality a look astatine the (Asian) elephants,” said the official.

Guidelines issued by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) successful 2013 accidental zoological parks indispensable not support animals azygous for much than six months and are expected to marque arrangements to procure viable partners. “It is recommended to location elephants successful tiny groups and not arsenic azygous animals,” work the guidelines.

A companion for Shankar

Zoo authorities anticipation that with the expected accomplishment of the pistillate elephants from Botswana and Zimbabwe, Shankar’s accent volition trim considerably with the “right societal grouping”.

“The thought is not conscionable to get a mate for Shankar, but a companion. We couldn’t person got antheral elephants due to the fact that that would person caused infighting,” Director Kumar said.

Zoo authorities accidental they are present moving towards welcoming the caller members. Authorities successful Zimbabwe person asked their counterparts successful Delhi to specify their requirements for the caller elephants, from the property radical and value to “certain ecological aspects”, Director Kumar said.

The Botswana authorities has besides sought proscription expenses, which the Delhi zoo has pegged astatine Rs 80 lakh to Rs 1 crore.

The manager added that arsenic portion of their efforts to guarantee a creaseless modulation for the newcomers, the zoo is moving towards getting regulatory approvals and seeking no-objection certificates, too mounting up quarantine facilities.

In 2010, the Delhi zoo wrote to parks successful Africa seeking either a mate for Shankar oregon asking them to instrumentality him back. (Photo credit: Dr. Abhijit Bhawal)

“As per planetary protocols, the carnal is trained up to a period earlier it tin participate the transport crate. We volition person to carnivore the further costs for the trainers,” Kumar said.

The manager besides said that experts from South Africa and Vantara, an carnal structure successful Gujarat’s Jamnagar tally by the Reliance Foundation, are providing recommendations for the payment of Shankar, particularly connected the question of however to grip him during his musth phase.

“We person been trying to get the elephants for months. It is lone now, done the diplomatic efforts of the Union Minister (Mos, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh), that the African zoos person agreed to nonstop their animals. Now that they person agreed to donate, our absorption volition beryllium connected the affirmative enrichment needed for the socialisation of the animals,” said Dr Sanjay Shukla, subordinate caput of the CZA.

The zoo life

Experts, however, warned that introducing caller elephants whitethorn not beryllium the lone solution to power Shankar’s aggression during periods of musth.

There person been respective ethics-based arguments surrounding the upkeep of elephants successful captivity successful zoo systems.

“Captivity cannot accommodate who elephants genuinely are… Ethically speaking, it’s precise hard to fulfil the biologic needs of musth for bull elephants successful immoderate benignant of zoo management. It is simply a communal misconception that each captive bull should beryllium fixed a accidental to breed during musth. In the wild, musth is an adaptation much for male-to-male aggression and dominance establishment,” said Kerala-based elder wood veterinary serviceman David Abraham.

According to Suparna Ganguly, probe subordinate of the Bengaluru-based Captive Elephant Research Team, “No magnitude of musth enclosures oregon arrangements tin ever replicate a captive elephant’s request for autonomy and choices, that the chaotic tin offer. Elephants successful captivity are notoriously hard to maintain… The astir challenging is the bull elephant… One of the toughest to navigate is the musth state, which is simply a natural, biologic phenomenon. However, successful an effort to control, repress, hold oregon accelerate musth, the bull elephant successful India is taxable to untold tortures and agonies successful captivity. Ganguly further argued that elephants are herd animals and “don’t ever similar immoderate idiosyncratic that is thrust upon them”.