Dudhwa's darling Batalik elephant is no more

Once wildly popular among tourists for his pranks, 19-year-old Batalik, an elephant at Dudhwa national park, is no more, forest officials said.

Multiple-organ failure due to severe dehydration was described to be the reason behind the death of the animal, which died on June 15 evening at Salukapur, on the day Dudhwa national park was closed to tourists till November 15.

Field Director, Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (DTR), Ramesh Pandey while expressing grief over the tusker's demise, told PTI, "Batalik had entered into a state of 'musth' (stimulated to mate) and gone beyond the control of his mahout. To control the elephant, which had even charged at his mahout, a mild dose of sedative was administered and he was kept at Salukapur."

Pandey said wildlife expert Utkarsh Shukla from Lucknow zoo was called, while KK Sharma from Guwahati and many IVRI experts were also consulted.

 

"Batalik was found to be suffering from dehydration and metabolic system disturbances, accordingly medical treatment was planned, but on June 14, Batalik sank to the ground and died the next day. An autopsy by a team of three veterinary doctors was carried out to ascertain the exact cause of death," he said.

Asked about the post-mortem findings, Pandey said he would "comment only after receiving a copy of the post-mortem report."

However, he said multiple-organ failure was said to be the reason behind the death. He added that viscera had been preserved for further examination.

Batalik, a progeny of Dudhwa elephant Pushpakali, was born on same day when Indian Army captured Batalik top in 1999 during the Kargil conflict.

To commemorate the victory, the elephant was named as Batalik.

Batalik was very popular among Dudhwa tourists as he indulged them. Tourists visiting Dudhwa took selfies with him.

Batalik learnt from his experienced mother Pushpakali how to behave in jungle and keep calm when confronted by big beasts like rhinos and tigers. After the death of Pushpakali in December 2017, the park officials engaged Batalik to handle man-animal conflict situations.

Dudhwa now has 12 elephants in its herd. Apart from this, 11 elephants have been brought here from Karnataka, which are under training.