The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Picking up Malayalam, the jumbo way

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 26, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Picking up Malayalam, the jumbo way

Staff Reporter

BEATING THE HEAT: Rajkumar, which was brought from Mumbai, gets a shower at the city zoo's elephant enclosure. — Photo: C. Ratheesh Kumar

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With Rajkumar, the 18-year-old elephant recently brought over from a zoo in Mumbai, settling into his new `home' at the city zoo, the two mahouts who came from Mumbai are preparing to go back on Sunday.

The four-ton animal is responding to rudimentary commands given in Malayalam, zoo veterinarian C.S. Jayakumar said here on Saturday. The elephant has also had its diet fixed by the zoo staff; and it appears to be quite a menu.

On any given day, Rajkumar gets to feast on 10 coconut palm leaves and Palmyra leaves, 10 loaves of bread, 5 kg of carrot, 10 kg of sugarcane and 50 kg of Guinea Grass (`Kuthirappullu'). In addition, the animal is also given `snacks' of apples or other fruits bought by his keeper Radhakrishnan Nair.

Mindful of the fact that Rajkumar is not yet fully tame, the zoo authorities have not yet ventured to lead him out of the pseudo-habitat elephant enclosure. The resident female Maheswari, on the other hand, is often taken for walks on the zoo premises. "Given that Maheswari is in the twilight of her life, Rajkumar may provide the much-needed psychological comfort to her," Mr. Jayakumar said. Dr. Jayakumar will be leaving shortly for the Kolkota zoo to examine the physical condition of a female giraffe, scheduled to be brought to the city zoo soon. If the vet finds the giraffe in a good physical condition, the zoo will go through with the final paperwork for bringing the animal over. Transporting the giraffe, Mr. Jayakumar said, would be much more of a challenge than bringing an elephant.

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