News
Karnataka: The Forest Department and CUPA rescue three circus elephants
November 08, 2008, 7:5PM MT
By Sharon St. Joan
Munniya, Barkha, and Baby are now safe!
Munniya, Barkha, and Baby are now safe!
By Sharon St Joan, Best Friends Network
The October 28, 2008 issue of the "Star of Mysore" has reported that three elephants were seized, due to neglect, from the Great Bombay Circus, which was visiting Mysore. The rescued elephants have currently been placed in the Bannerghatta National Park in Bangalore, where they will be well cared for.
Forest Department officials arrived at 10 AM, October 28, at the circus, stating their intent to rescue the elephants, following reports from Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) and Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (WRRC) that the elephants were being mistreated.
CUPA and WRRC had visited the circus premises. They found that the three female elephants: Munniya, age 35, Barkha, age 50, and Baby, age 55, had been being kept chained, in a restricted space, for 21 hours a day, with inadequate food and not enough water. The elephants' feet were infected and showed signs of abuse.
Mysore Zoo authorities did a follow-up visit and confirmed the neglectful, abusive conditions in which the elephants were being kept.
The Forest Department had brought along three trucks in which to transport the elephants, and they requested that the circus mahouts (elephant handlers) help them to move the elephants into the trucks since the elephants knew their own mahouts. However, the circus officials were uncooperative, and the circus mahouts were nowhere to be seen.
Eventually, the elephants were transported safely to Bannerghatta National Park, to join a herd of other elephants. Some of the elephants already there had also been saved by CUPA, including the young elephant Veda, who Best Friends members played a part in rescuing with a letter writing campaign in 2005.
A few of us from Best Friends visited the Bannerghatta National Park in January, 2007, and found the elephants living a very contented life. They are together with their extended family, which is very important for elephants. They spend most of their time browsing in the forest or bathing in the river, and they are much loved and cared for.
There are around 400 captive elephants in the state of Karnataka alone. In general, they are quite badly treated, and CUPA and WRRC are working actively in Karnataka, and throughout India, towards establishing a happier life for these sensitive, intelligent creatures.
What you can do
To visit the website of CUPA and WRRC, please go to,
http://www.cupabangalore.org
To purchase the informative book about elephants, written by Rhea Ghosh and published by CUPA, please go to
http://www.godsinchains.com
The website of the "Star of Mysore" is
http://www.starofmysore.com
Photo: Joellen Secondo / Suvarna, one of the elephants at the Bannerghatta National Park, enjoying a snack