After serving for more than 25 years, Rajaji National Park authorities have decided to put its grand old lady, Arundhati, a female elephant to sleep.

But the move has come under fire with environmentalists opposing the mercy killing.

The 75 year old camp elephant, who has carried thousands of tourists on her back for jungle safaris, is writhing in pain since she suffered multiple fractures after she got struck in a marsh in the park area a few months back.
“Since the animal is in great pain, we have decided to put Arundhati to sleep,” said Rajaji Park Director G S Pandey.

Following the fracture, the elephant has been incapacitated. Sensing Arundhati’s pain, Pandey constituted a panel of three veterinary doctors including Dr Pallavi Bhagwati of the Wildlife Trust of India for the mercy killing. Once the panel approved the mercy killing, the Chief Wildlife Warden Srikant Chandola, gave its stamp of approval.

But environmentalist groups led by Maneka Gandhi’s Peoples for Animal have asked the Rajaji Park authorities not to kill the animal. Other environmentalists including Dr Anil Joshi have also opposed the killing of Arundhati.
When asked about the opposition to the killing of Arundhati, Pandey said these groups are interfering into the legal procedures adopted form the Wildlife Act. “In the Wildlife Act, it is clear that if an animal becomes incapacitated, it can be put to sleep. Moreover, we only want to prevent more suffering to the animal,” said Pandey.

Arundhati was in the news in 2005 after she took over the role of foster mother to an abandoned calf which has now grown up and is in the Rajaji Park.