88 year old elephant, said to be oldest in Asia, dies

Dakshayani, an 88-year-old captive she-elephant in Kerala, considered to be the oldest in India and even Asia, died on Tuesday.

The Travancore Devaswom Board that owns the elephant said in an official statement that the elephant entered Guinness Book of World records in 2016 for being the oldest she-elephant in Asia.

Dakshayani was suffering from age-related problems and was at an elephant shelter in Thiruvananthapuram over the last few years. Till then it used to be paraded for temple festivals.

The erstwhile Travancore Royal family had gifted the elephant to the Travancore Devaswom board many years ago. Dakshayani also held the record of leading the maximum number of festivals at the temples under the Travancore Devaswom Board. The elephant was honoured with 'Gajarajamuttassi' (Grandma elephant title) in 2016. The Postal department had brought out a post cover with Dakshayani's picture.