NEW DELHI: Amid the nationwide outrage over the death of a pregnant elephant, after it ate a pineapple containing firecrackers in Kerala recently, authorities at the Delhi zoo paid their respects to the tusker in a unique way by throwing a feast for three elephants at their enclosures on the occasion of World Environment Day on Friday.
The National Zoological Park has three elephants — one African female and two Asian males. To pay homage to the Kerala elephant, Delhi zoo officials cleaned and decorated the elephants’ enclosures and set up a stall with delicious dishes such as rice pudding, watermelons, jack fruits among others.
“Elephants deserve respect. But we have been hearing reports of mistreatment with these animals from across the country. The latest incident from Kerala was unfortunate. So, we decided to throw a feast for them on World Environment Day with all their favourite food,” said Ramesh Pandey, director of the zoo.
The 15-year-old elephant, who was two months pregnant, apparently strayed into a village near the Silent Valley National Park in Palakkad district last week and ate the pineapple. In a Facebook post, forest official Mohan Krishnan said the firecrackers exploded in the animal’s mouth and the elephant walked for days in pain before dying on May 27, standing in a river.
Pandey also said in summers, the animals are sprinkled with water through machines installed inside their enclosures.Earlier, the animals would come out of their cages around 9 am, but after Pandey took charge as the new director of the zoo, the animals are brought out between 6 and 7 am. “Animal care, health and happiness are my topmost priority. The timings have been changed so that the animals, who remained cages for the entire night, come are out in the open in a cooler temperature. This will help them relax,” he said.