Chengalloor Dakshayani (''c.''1930 - 5 February 2019) was a female
Asian elephant
The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus ''Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the no ...
owned by
Travancore Devaswom Board
Travancore Devaswom Board is statutory and autonomous body managing around 1200 temples in southern part of India. The regular operations of one of the major temples of India, Sabarimala temple, works under its guidance.
History and Administra ...
and kept at the Chenkalloor Mahadeva Temple in
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...
in
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
, India, which at the time of her death on 5 February 2019 was believed to be the oldest elephant in captivity in Asia. She was also known as Gaja Raja Dakshayani and as "Dakshayanamma" (mother Dakshayani) and "Gaja Muthassi" (elephant grandmother).
Life
The
Travancore royal family bought the elephant calf at Kodanad elephant camp near
Ernakulam
Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation a ...
, and donated her to their Thiruvarattu Kavu temple at
Attingal
Attingal is a municipality in Thiruvananthapuram metropolitan area in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala state, India. It was the location of the Attingal kingdom, under Travancore. It is the headquarters of Chirayinkeezhu Taluk, and the ...
in 1949,
when she was 19 years old;
she was transferred to the Chenkalloor Mahadeva Temple in the late 1960s. The State Forest Department registered her age as 76 on 18 July 2007.
In 2016, when she became the oldest known elephant in Asia, the Board applied to
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
to have her recorded as the oldest elephant in captivity, a record previously held by
Lin Wang
Lin Wang ({{zh, c=林旺, p=Lín Wàng, zhu=ㄌ一ㄣˊ ㄨㄤˋ; 29 October 1917 – 26 February 2003) was an Asian elephant that served with the Chinese Expeditionary Force during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) and later rel ...
of the
Taipei Zoo
The Taipei Zoo, sometimes referred to as the "Muzha Zoo", is a public zoo, zoological garden in Wenshan District, Taipei, Taiwan. It is the most famous zoological garden in Taiwan and a leader in conservation biology, conservation, research and ...
, who died in 2003 at the age of 86.
The Universal Records Forum, based in
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
, certified her as the oldest elephant in captivity; by some accounts she was certified the record holder by Guinness and a
postal cover was issued to celebrate the event.
The temple also prepared to give her a larger enclosure where she would not be chained.
Chengalloor Dakshayani was still participating in temple rituals in 2017, but her parading was restricted after 2015.
[ There were complaints that it was cruel not to retire her. In her last years she had trouble moving and her food was supplemented by hand feeding of pineapples and carrots. She died at around 3 p.m. on 5 February 2019, after collapsing in her shelter in a care facility in Pappanamcode;][{{cite news , url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-47161030 , title='Oldest known elephant in captivity' dies at 88 in India , publisher=BBC News , date=7 February 2019 ] or 89.[
]
See also
* List of individual elephants
*Abul-Abbas, Charlemagne's elephant
* Arjuna, lead elephant of the Mysore Dasara procession and carries the idol of the deity Chamundeshwari on the Golden Howdah
*Balarama, preceded Arjuna (see above); Golden Howdah-carrier between 1999 and 2011
...
References
External links
Chenkalloor Dakshayani at Chengannur Mahadevar Temple
at Elephant Database
1930 animal births
2019 animal deaths
Individual elephants
Elephants in Indian culture
Elephants in Kerala
Individual animals in India
Elephants in Hinduism