HYDERABAD: The Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad lost one of its oldest inmates on Tuesday night, an 83-year-old Asian elephant named Rani. She died of natural causes due to old age. The zoo pointed out that Rani was probably one of the oldest elephants to have ever lived in captivity in the world.
According to a press release, “A quick internet search reveals that among Asian Elephants, Chengalloor Dakshayani (female, 88 years) owned by the Travancore Devaswom Board and Lin Wang (male, 86 years) of Taipei Zoo were the only other elephants who outlived Rani.” On Wednesday, zoo staff, particularly the animal keepers who took care of Rani, paid floral tributes, recalled their memories of her being part of the zoo family, and bid a tearful adieu.
Rani was born on October 7, 1938 and was transferred from Bagh-e-aam (public gardens) to the Hyderabad zoo in October 1963. She was a regular feature in the Bonalu and Muharram processions in the city for some time and her birthday used to be celebrated every year by the zoo. Rani had been suffering from age-related health complications for a while and was being provided medical treatment by zoo veterinarians.
The zoo had even constructed an earthen mound for her to lean on and rest as she could not lie down due to arthiritis. The zoo remembered her as a “friendly matriarch to the elephant family at the zoo” and said that she lived her life to the fullest and died without much physical suffering. The zoo is now left with four Asian elephants. Upasana Kamineni Konidela, Vice Chairperson of Apollo Foundation, had adopted Rani for a year in July 2020.
21-year-old leopard dies
On Wednesday evening, a 21-year-old leopard named Ayyappa also died of old age. He had been brought to Hyderabad from the Tirupati zoo. While leopards live in captivity till around 18 years of age, elephants live a little over 70 years, said the zoo.