Kaveri, a female elephant at Dubare Elephant Camp, being tested  during the selection process.

By M.T. Yogesh Kumar

Mysuru: The Forest Department has intensified the process of selecting four female elephants for the grand Jumboo Savari, the highlight of this year’s Dasara celebrations.

The festivities will commence on Oct. 11 and culminate in the traditional Vijayadashami procession on Oct. 21.

The first batch of elephants, led by Howdah Elephant Captain Abhimanyu, is scheduled to arrive in Mysuru on Aug. 26. Ahead of their arrival, Forest Department officials are visiting elephant camps to conduct health examinations.

As in previous years, the Dept. plans to bring 10 male elephants and four female elephants for the festivities. However, special attention is being paid to the selection of the female elephants.

The Dept. has tightened its selection process following the controversy in 2023, when Lakshmi, a female elephant from the Rampura camp in Bandipur, gave birth to a calf inside the Mysore Palace premises during Dasara. Animal welfare activists had criticised the Department for including a pregnant elephant in the Dasara team and making her undergo strenuous training, including mock cannon-firing exercises.

Four female jumbos

Learning from that experience, the Department has introduced stricter screening measures this year. For the first time, ultrasound scans have been conducted on female elephants to                                           detect pregnancy.

Blood and stool samples have also been collected and sent to laboratories in Hyderabad and Dehradun for analysis. The health examinations were conducted on July 5 and the Department is awaiting the test reports.

The female elephants examined this year are Roopa from Bheemanakatte camp; Lakshmi from Balle camp; Chaitra, Hiranmayi and Kanthi from Rampura camp in Bandipur; and Kaveri, Hemavathi and Vidya from Dubare camp.

Since the gestation period of elephants ranges between 18 and 24 months, pregnancy is often difficult to detect. To minimise the possibility of errors, the Department has conducted three different types of tests this year.

During last year’s selection process, Hiranmayi and Lakshmi were found to be pregnant. While Lakshmi subsequently gave birth, Hiranmayi is yet to deliver.

Experts point out that female elephants can sometimes experience pseudo-pregnancy, in which they exhibit signs of pregnancy without actually carrying a calf.

To avoid a repeat of the 2023 incident, the Forest Department is carrying out comprehensive medical examinations before finalising this year’s Dasara elephant team.

Srikanta’s musth subsides

During last year’s Dasara festival, elephant Srikanta participated for the first time and impressed the royal family by successfully discharging his role as the ‘Pattada Aane.’

This year, however, concerns arose when Srikanta entered musth, a natural condition in male elephants characterised by heightened aggression and hormonal changes. There were apprehensions that he might be left out of Dasara team. Those concerns have now eased, as Srikanta has completely come out of musth. His health has improved and his temperament has returned to its usual calm state. Elephant Bheema has also emerged from musth, bringing relief to the Forest Department, which had been concerned about finalising the elephant team for Dasara.