Shankar was gifted to the Indian president, Shankar Dayal Sharma, in 1996 and sent to the National Zoological Park, formerly Delhi Zoo, in 1998. The African elephant arrived with Vimbai, a female African elephant, as a diplomatic gift from Zimbabwe.
However, the male elephant has lived in isolation for almost 23 years after Vimbai passed away in 2001.
A recent issue with the Delhi Zoo and an elephant named Shankar has raised questions about the condition of Indian zoos and how the treatment of animals there.
Delhi Zoo’s Membership Revoked
The whole discussion started with the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) suspending the Delhi Zoo’s membership for six months after concerns were raised about the treatment of the African elephant named Shankar. WAZA and animal experts alleged that the elephant was being ill-treated after Shankar was seen being restrained and chained while he was in ‘musth’.
Musth is an annual condition seen in bull elephants where due to an increase in their testosterone levels, they become more aggressive and show unpredictable behaviour.
Shankar’s musth lasted from July to September and it was during this time that he was restrained, which led to him developing a chain burn injury and the authorities eventually having to tranquilise the animal.
This along with Shankar having been kept in isolation all this while, in a separate enclosure raised several flags for animal experts about how well the animal was being treated. A senior Delhi zoo official did clarify that while Shankar was kept separate from other elephants, he did have “visual contact” with Rajalakshmi and Hira Gaj, the two Asian elephants also present in the zoo.
The official said, “We do not keep (the Asian and African) elephants in the same enclosure… to maintain species purity. But this does not mean Shankar is kept in isolation. When he was younger, we used to take him for walks with the Asian elephants. Though the enclosures are different now, Shankar is still occasionally taken for walks to take a look at the (Asian) elephants.”
Zoo Director Sanjeet Kumar also revealed that attempts are being made to procure a companion for Shankar which by providing the “right social grouping” would help with Shankar’s stress.
Director Kumar said, “The idea is not just to get a mate for Shankar, but a companion. We couldn’t have got male elephants because that would have caused infighting.”
Experts seem to be another opinion though, claiming that captive elephants can never really be ethically treated as they should be.
Kerala-based senior forest veterinary officer David Abraham said, “Captivity cannot accommodate who elephants truly are… Ethically speaking, it’s very difficult to fulfil the biological needs of musth for bull elephants in any kind of zoo management. It is a common misconception that every captive bull should be given a chance to breed during musth. In the wild, musth is an adaptation more for male-to-male aggression and dominance establishment.”
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Suparna Ganguly, a research member of the Bengaluru-based Captive Elephant Research Team, said, “No amount of musth enclosures or arrangements can ever replicate a captive elephant’s need for autonomy and choices, that the wild can offer. Elephants in captivity are notoriously difficult to maintain…
The most challenging is the bull elephant… One of the toughest to navigate is the musth state, which is a natural, biological phenomenon. However, in an effort to control, repress, delay or accelerate musth, the bull elephant in India is subject to untold tortures and agonies in captivity.”
Ganguly also pointed out that since elephants are herd animals they “don’t always like any individual that is thrust upon them”.
Shankar Released?
The Ministry of Environment revealed that Shankar was found roaming freely in his enclosure on 11 October 2024.
On 9 October, the Union Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh oversaw Shankar’s health and habitat conditions along with officials from the Environment Ministry and experts from Vantara, the Jamnagar-based wildlife facility of the Reliance Group.
Singh then tweeted on 11 October and stated that “I am very happy to inform that the African elephant ‘Shankar’ has been freed from chains in Delhi Zoo.
For the last 48 hours, his health, diet, behaviour were being closely monitored by the zoo, team Vantara, Jamnagar, Gujarat, especially his team’s elephant expert Dr Adrian from South Africa and mahout Michael from Philippines.
On Wednesday, I inspected the enclosure with the said team and gave directions. Positive effects are visible. ‘Shankar’s’ behaviour has improved a lot compared to before. Necessary measurement work has been completed to prepare power fencing, treatment pen wall and rubber mat to make Shankar’s enclosure more comfortable.
After a thorough inspection of Shankar’s behaviour and daily routine, a diet plan for Shankar and a framework of many activities to keep him busy will also be prepared.”
What Is The Current Situation Of Indian Zoos?
This does seem to shed light on Indian zoos and their condition. A report by The Print highlighted how “the National Zoological Park is in desperate need of an overhaul but is extremely hamstrung by funds.”
According to the National Zoological Park statistics, in 2017-18 year the National Zoological Park witnessed at least 27.09 lakh visitors. However, despite such a heavy footfall of visitors, the zoo’s revenue reportedly does not even reach 10% of that with the zoo requiring almost Rs. 400 crore of budget to really do an overhaul.
As per The Print report “TERI-Central Zoo Authority report estimated the zoo’s recreational and cultural value to be Rs 324.33 crore and its education and research value at Rs 37.6 crore.”
The report also highlighted the growing number of zoo accidents and how the behaviour of visitors also needs to be taken into consideration.
While zoo authorities have their responsibility, some of it also lies on the shoulders of the visitors who not just look at animals, but point, laugh, tease, even going so far as to throw a number of things at the animals in their enclosures.
Some even directly invade the enclosure itself, either falling by mistake or overconfident in their belief that nothing can harm them, often leading to disastrous results.
These are mostly the animals having to face punishment, be it by being tranquilised, kept in isolation, or killed because they’re deemed dangerous to the general population.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: The Print, The Indian Express, The Hindu
Find the blogger: @chirali_08
This post is tagged under: indian zoo, indian zoos, elephant, elephant shankar, delhi zoo, delhi zoo elephant, delhi zoo shankar, African elephant, African elephant delhi zoo, African elephant shankar, Zoo
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