At 67, Selvi is an ever youthful matriarch of Kozhikamuthi elephant camp

Selvi, a female elephant of the Kozhikamuthi elephant camp of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR), astonishes veterinarians and caretakers with her youthful appearance even at the age of 67. The second oldest elephant in the camp, Selvi is regarded as the matriarch for over 20 captive elephants that live in the midst of wilderness.

What amazes veterinarians and staff at the camp the most is the age-defying appearance of the elephant that has calved 10 times.

“Selvi is a standing testimony to the captive elephant management practices followed by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department. The elephant is very healthy at the age of 67 and the ageing has not been reflected in its physical features,” says N.S. Manoharan, Additional Director (retd), Veterinary Services, who had taken care of the camp elephants for several years.

Compared to other elephants of its age, Selvi has very minimal folds on the upper part of the ears, which also do not have cracks at the bottom. The animal does not have muscle wasting, cracks on nails and depigmentation on skin that is normally reflected on parts like the trunk and ears as elephants age, notes Dr. Manoharan. According to him, Selvi was captured using pit-method from the Anamalai hills at the age of six or seven, when capturing wild elephants for Forest Department uses was in practice.

“Though retired at the age of 60, Selvi is very active and does the job of a matriarch in the camp. Her presence comforts other elephants, even if they are in any distress,” he says.

Bhargava Teja Deputy Director of ATR also shares the same thoughts on Selvi: “Elephants are matriarchal in nature and that natural instinct is very much present in Selvi. Other elephants are very calm and comfortable in her presence.”

The elephant gave birth to 10 calves at the camp. Gomathi, the elephant of Sankaranarayanaswamy Temple at Sankarankovil, was born to Selvi and Kaleem (now retired), regarded as one of the best kumkis in the country. Tamizhan, also born to Selvi and Kaleem, is a camp elephant at Kozhikamuthi. Another male elephant born to Selvi, namely Venkat, is now with Guruvayur Shri Krishna Temple, rechristened as Sidharthan.

Biologist Sreedhar Vijayakrishnan, who has closely observed camp elephants of Kozhikamuthi while studying elephant behaviour, recalls that Selvi never showed aggression towards other elephants and always exhibited motherly affection and care whenever calves or injured elephants were brought to the camp.

“Since the Forest Department camps are located inside forests and elephants are allowed for grazing in the wild, the stress level is very minimal unlike other captive elephants. Selvi had a normal reproductive life, which shows that her life at the camp is relatively stress-free. Camp elephants like Selvi, Vijayalakshmi and Valli (last two deceased) have played a key role in balancing the social life of elephants at the camp,” he says.

Some years ago, Selvi went missing and was later found to be roaming along with a small herd of wild elephants. Her mahout Sundarraj was very confident that she would return on her own. “After spending time with the herd, which also had a calf, she returned to camp on the 18th day,” adds Dr. Manoharan.

Published - October 29, 2024 08:57 pm IST