MANGALARU: A female elephant from Udupi district will finally get a chance to mate after the Udupi Sri Krishna Mutt decided to send the 26-year-old pachyderm to Hirekal Mutt at Honnali in Davanagere district, which is on the edge of a forest. The elephant Subhadra was brought to Udupi when she was three and was living in the premises of the Mutt for the last 25 years.
The development was confirmed to TNIE by an official of the shrine, Pralhad Acharya, who said the elephant was sent to another Mutt after following all the rules and regulations. Deputy Conservator of Forests, Davanagere Division, Chandrashekar Naik said the animal was shifted on a truck.
A veterinarian analysing her said a 26-year-old female elephant would have normally conceived two calves by now. As there was no male elephant here, all the eight Udupi mutt seers decided to send her near the jungle to find a potential mate.
The Kundapura and Davanagere forest departments did a search for the best location to send the jumbo before zeroing in on Hirekal Mutt in Honnali, which is very close to the Tungabhadra river as well as the Sakrebailu elephant training camp where there are many tuskers.
Suparna Ganguly, an elephant conservationist, said she may not be able to procreate if she is regularly brought to the mutt to perform duties there. "The elephant will be under tremendous stress and her menstrual cycle would take a toll. For her to adjust to her natural habitat, it will take at least two to three years. We have done a comprehensive study on it," she said, adding that no female elephant which had been kept away from the forest for a long period in India has reproduced.