Maheswari, 85-year-old elephant, dies in Thiruvananthapuram zoo

On Monday the oldest member of Thiruvananthapuram Zoo an Elephant named Maheswari, 82, died in the Thiruvananthapuram Zoo, barely two days after she fell ill. She was brought from the wild in 1946.

“Late last night, with the help of heavy belts, she was lifted from the ground where she lay and made to stand.” Jacob Alexander, the vet who was treating the female elephant, said.

“She had her favourite food… But despite the best medical aid, we could not keep her alive,” he said.

According to zoo records, Maheswari came from a forest area in Konni, now in Pathanamthitta district, in 1946.

Cynthia Chandran, a journalist and daughter of a former director of the zoo, told IANS that she grew up seeing Maheswari from the mid-70s.

“We stayed in the zoo till my father retired in 1989. At times she used to come in the night to our residence which had 26 different types of fruit trees. Her favourite was the jackfruit.”

Elephants that live in the wild get their last set of teeth when they are 40 years old but “Captive elephants get it as late as at the age of 60.” veterinarian Jacob Cheeran added.

Src:- http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Thiruvananthapuram/elephant-85-dies-in-trivandrum-zoo/article6874825.ece

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