Rajan, the legendary elephant whom you could swim along with in the ocean off the Andaman islands, has passed away at the age of 66.
A star attraction at Barefoot Resort at Havelock Island, Rajan came to be in the possession of the owners of the resort, after they took him under their care when he was left sick and stranded on the island in 2004, after his owner could not pay to ship him to a nearby island after a film shoot.
Made famous by the 2006 Hollywood film, The Fall, Rajan was then set to be sold to a temple in Kerala in 2007, before Barefoot Resort raised enough funds to keep the beloved jumbo.
Rajan went on to become a mascot of sorts for the tourist site, flashing his swimming skills for cameras, and earning his keep, in a manner of speaking.
Earlier Rajan was employed to move logs out to the sea at Havelock island to be loaded on boats, before the resort bought him. The popular pachyderm is featured in many videos and photos that have gone viral on social media.