Kerala - Kollam   

Tusker, 91, gets a different title

Photo: C. Suresh Kumar

A record: Krishnankutty being honoured at Kottarakara on Friday. –

KOLLAM: It is reportedly a record longevity. Tusker Krishnankutty owned by the Kottarakara group of the Travancore Devaswom Board is ninety-one years old. In the presence of a big crowd at Kottarakara Maha Ganapathi Temple on Friday, Krishnankutty was accorded the ‘Gaja Muthachan’ (elephant patriarch) title by the temple advisory council.

Though ailing, the elephant stood up to accept the title by lifting its trunk. Many of his tusker friends too had arrived to witness the ceremony.

Captive elephant management expert and technical advisor to the elephant squad of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, B. Aravind, said that Krishnankutty is the only nonagenarian captive elephant he has come across in the country. He said studies have shown that captive Asian elephants can live between 70 and 80 years. In the wild, their average lifespan is 60 years.

The senior citizens of Kottarakara and nearby areas remember seeing Krishnankutty from their childhood. But none of them recount Krishnankutty running amok.

He is very particular on one aspect, though. That he, and only he, should carry the ‘thidambu’ of the Maha Ganapathi Temple on the annual festival day. If that honour is given to any other tusker, Krishnankutty makes no secret of his anger and thus, earns back his right.

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