THE HINDU December 21, 2011
Even at this age of 61, leading a retired life, Dineshan receives jumbo-sized accolades every day. It is his tusks that have the most admirers.
At 1.44 metres long and 40 centimetres in diameter, each tusk stands out. Ivory of this proportion remains a dream for other captive elephants in the State.
To know why he is such a big hit with people, add Dineshan's gentle behaviour to the equation. In a corner of the elephant camp at Muthanga in the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, he spends his days saluting visitors, never giving up his gentle nature.
It was not such restful days in his youth. Dineshan, standing over 2.5 metres tall, had been in forest service for 40 years as a Kumki elephant, rescuing trapped wild elephants inside the forests and assisting mahouts to train captive elephants in the kraal.
He had never attacked anyone or disobeyed the commands of his mahouts, M. Gopalan, a mahout at the camp, said.
The tusker was brought from the Nedumkayam elephant camp of the Nilambur forest division several decades ago, when capturing wild elephants was common in the State. In those days, Dineshan was in the forefront of rescue and training, T.M. Suresh, a former Wildlife Warden, recalled.
During the 1960s, nearly 30 trained elephants in the camp had been engaged in various works, including pulling timber and capturing wild elephants, he said. When the government banned capture of wild elephants in 1977 and felling trees in sanctuaries in the following years, the number of elephants in the camp was reduced to four.
At present, the department has just two Kumki elephants, Surya and Kunju, used mainly for scaring away herds of wild elephants entering human habitats and applying tranquilliser shots to pachyderms in critical situations, Pradeep, Assistant Wildlife Warden of the sanctuary, told The Hindu .
Sundary, a one-year-old female calf, became a new member of the elephant camp after it was rescued by forest personnel from the sanctuary in May 2010.
Amazing there is no PTS(post traumatic stress) in sight. Fluke, or overlooked fact in the animal right movement's ability to interpret anything, anyway, anyhow to fit their agenda?
Wade: Bob Barker was talking to the Premier of Ontario about including "Kiska", the killer whale at Marineland in the ban on killer whales. If you google "Bob Barker wants Marineland killer whale included in ban" a lot of articles will come up. Apparently Bob Barker was responsible for the three African elephants being removed from the Toronto Zoo. I think Kiska is the last captive killer whale left in Canada. Sincerely Paul
ReplyDeleteWade: I was watching Jack Hanna on Saturday morning and there was an interview with Ian Player from 1995, and he (Jack Hanna) visited Gabon, which I know always means wild gorillas. As I understand it Ian Player discovered a population of 30 Southern White rhinos in the Umfolozi Game Reserve. I'm not sure whether they were thought to be extinct. I found this on the internet: "Ian Player Is Dead at 87; Helped to Save Rhinos" http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/04/world/africa/ian-player-conservationist... The article says that he worked to establish colonies of white rhinos in captivity at the San Diego and Orange County zoos. I'm pretty sure that the Indian rhino was considered virtually extinct, but they discovered a wild population somewhere, possibly in Nepal, which made a huge difference, and something similar happened with the wood bison. Ian Player told Jack Hanna that all of the white rhinos in zoos today are descended from the 30 he discovered in the Umfolozi Game Reserve. If they could come back from just 30 maybe there's hope for a lot of things. Sincerely Paul PS: I was looking at a free magazine a picked up at the bus stop. It features all sorts of tourist attractions in Ontario. There are a lot of zoos featured, including the African Lion Safari with its' herd of Rothschild's giraffes.
ReplyDeleteWade: Here is a British Pathe video of white rhino being transported from Sudan to Antwerp in 1950. http://britishpathe.com/search/query/white+rhino
ReplyDeleteWade: After I sent you the previous messages I realized they are not talking about the San Diego or Orange County zoos are they? I don't think the San Diego Zoo has ever had a white rhino or the Orange County Zoo. They must have been talking about the WAP and Lion Country Safari in Orange County, which closed years ago. The thing about the Sudanese giraffes is interesting. There are giraffes from West Africa called "white giraffes". They're not really white. They just look white from a distance their spots are so faint. At least one zoo in France specialises in breeding these so-called white giraffes. That reminds me of something else. Did you hear about the 29 year old American girl who was just killed by a lioness in the Lion Park in South Africa? She worked on "Game of Thrones" and "Captain America". They said she had her window wound down. I think I saw your friend, the Native-American or Amerindian actor on Star Trek Voyager last night. Sincerely Paul
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