Dasara elephant Lakshmi gives birth to male calf in Mysuru palace premises

Lakshmi, a 21-year-old Dasara elephant, gave birth to a cute little tusker in the Mysore Palace premises on September 13 night. Both the mother and the calf are healthy, and veterinarians are monitoring their health.

“The mother Lakshmi and the newborn calf are healthy and doing well,” said a forest official.

Maybe for the first time in more than 20 years, a female Dasara elephant gave birth to a calf inside the palace premises while on training for the ‘Jamboo Savari’. Normally, the authorities don’t select pregnant tuskers for Dasara tasks.

According to Deputy Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) V. Karikalan, “The mahouts and old-timers in the department are saying that an elephant giving birth while in Mysuru for Dasara tasks is uncommon, at least in the last two-and-a-half decades." About 25 years ago, a female Dasara elephant is said to have given birth, but this is yet to be confirmed. "

Lakshmi was brought to Mysuru in August from Ramapura elephant camp in Bandipur, along with eight other elephants. The gentle giants were brought to Mysuru as part of ‘Gajapayana’. The Dasara jumbo squad includes 14 full-grown elephants.

Laxmi’s mahouts were not aware that the elephant was expecting a baby calf. Elephants have months-long gestation periods ranging from 18 to 22 months. As a result, it is difficult to detect a tusker’s pregnancy. However, the forest authorities check the health of every elephant while selecting them for Dasara tasks.

Lakshmi is no longer expected to participate in the Dasara celebrations, but the department is not looking for her replacement because the jumbo squad already has three other female elephants.

The mahout and kavadi of Lakshmi are with her and taking care of her.

On September 14, Pramoda Devi Wadiyar of the erstwhile Mysuru royal family visited the elephant camp and enquired about the newborn’s health.