Dasara Veteran, 64-yr-old Arjuna Dies in Face-off with Wild Tusker, Last Rites to be Performed in Sakleshpur

Elephant Arjuna, the three-metre-tall big mammal famous for his stately demeanour, died during Dasara duty, in an operation to nab a wild elephant near Yeslur in Sakleshpur taluk in Hassan district on Monday afternoon.

Weighing well over 5,800 kg, Arjuna’s last rites will be performed at the site of the incident on Tuesday noon.

A member of the Dasara tusker squad, 64-year-old Arjuna carried the fabled golden howdah eight consecutive times until 2019.

Quoting forest department sources, a TOI report said officials launched an operation to apprehend the rogue wild tusker around 11 am on Monday near Yeslur with six elephants, including Arjuna.

The rogue tusker attacked Arjuna while the authorities tried to dart it with a tranquillizer. Even as other elephants ran, Arjuna stayed put and tried to single-handedly take on the wild tusker.

During the face-off, Arjuna suffered serious injuries near the tusk, stomach and ribs and instantly collapsed to his death. Fortunately, the mahout and the veterinarian managed to run to safety.

Karnataka forest minister Eshwar Khandre said, “Unfortunately, we lost him and it’s a sad day for us.”

“We’ve lost a trusted elephant. Arjuna was an expert elephant and thus a natural choice in most rescue or search operations inside forests,” he added.

The minister also highlighted the risks in elephant-capturing operations. “There is so much at stake for our NOV personnel and veterinarians, who risk their lives to capture Ani elephants due to increasing pressure from many quarters,” he was quoted by TOI as saying.

Arjuna, from Balle camp in Nagarahole tiger reserve in Mysuru, was sent to the Hassan division on November 23 to rescue wild elephants following complaints of unchecked jumbo raids in the area that left three persons dead.