It’s a boy! Before the feminists among you protest, there is reason for special cheer in this birth. On Saturday night, Suvarna (19) gave birth to Gajendra. This is the first time in the history of the Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) that a male elephant calf has been born in captivity.
“It’s a joyous occasion. We’ve never had a male calf born here before. Elephants are a star attraction at the BBP, and this one will add special joy. There are now nine cow elephants and one bull elephant, Vanaraj, at the BBP. Vanaraj was also part of the Mysore Dasara celebrations; Gajendra too will, in time, be trained to attend the Dasara in Mysore,” said Tago.
Adding to the joy of the birth itself is the fact that the new-born has already found a sponsor. On Monday morning, Uppendra M Kini, managing director of Link Middle East Limited, an engineering solutions firm, visited the zoo wondering which animal to adopt.
Hearing news of the birth of the elephant calf, he chose to adopt him, naming him Gajendra.
Suvarna has given birth to five calves so far: Shiva, the eldest is at the Hubli zoo; Vanitha, the second, is herself the mother of three female calves —Veda, Nisarga and Krupa, all housed at BBP. The third calf, Gokula, died. The fourth, Vanashree, is also at BBP.
