Hard floor deprives Dasara elephants of sleep

The Dasara elephants camping on the Mysore Palace premises haven’t slept in peace since their arrival on Monday, blame it on the hard surface at the temporary shelter which has forced the animals to sleep standing up.

The Mysore Palace Board built the shelter for the first batch of six elephants with zinc sheet roof and stone-slab floor. The intention was to accommodate the pachyderms in the best suitable ambience.

 The plan, however, seems to have gone awry with the guests from the wild not being able to stretch themselves at ease on the floor.

Barring Arjuna, the prankster elephant which has been tethered in natural settings away from the shelter, and the lone she elephant Vijaya, the remaining four elephants, including the howdah carrier Balarama, Gajendra, Srirama and Abhimanyu, have not been able to sleep well.

Sources told Deccan Herald that elephants, though in captivity, are more comfortable in natural  atmosphere.

They prefer a muddy surface and are wary of lying down on a rough and hard floor, lest they harm their tusks in sleep.

Following a complaint by the mahouts of the four jumbos, officers had requisitioned the Palace Board for two truckloads of sand to make a “softer bed” for the animals.
Sand spread to a certain height could address the problem, said a source.

T S Subramanya, deputy director of the Palace Board, told this paper that they have replicated the zoo facility for the elephants on the palace premises. As a temporary arrangement, sand has been spread in front of the elephants and the area behind them is covered with grass, said Dr Ramesh, the veterinarian.