Vatsala estimated to be world’s oldest surviving elephant

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI (AA) - Vatsala, a female elephant at the Panna Tiger Reserve in central India’s Madhya Pradesh state, is believed to be 105 years old on the eve of World Elephant Day.

The first World Elephant Day was celebrated on Aug. 12, 2012, after it was conceived by the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation and filmmakers Patricia Sims and Michael Clark in 2011.

Authorities do not have documents to verify Vatsala's age but she is listed as the world's oldest surviving elephant. An Asian elephant in the wild has an estimated average lifespan of about 60-70 years.

Due to cataracts in her eyes, her vision and digestive system have become very weak.

"The age of an elephant is ascertained from his teeth. I've been working here for 21 years. But from the very beginning, I could see that she had no teeth."

Vatsala's first "mahout" -- a person who tends an elephant -- had come to the town of Hoshangabad from the Nilambur Forest Division in India's southern Kerala state, and has now passed away but according to his assessment, Vatsala is over 100 years old, Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Gupta, a wildlife veterinarian monitoring Vatsala's health for the last 21 years at the Panna Tiger Reserve, told Anadolu Agency.

In 1995, Vatsala lost all her teeth -- tusks, molars, and premolars. Elephants are known to lose teeth at about 70 years of age, which helps calculate her age that she must be currently around 105 years old.

“Vatsala grew up in the Nilambur Forest Division of Kerala. She spent her early life transporting forest produce,” said Panna Tiger Reserve Director Uttam Kumar Sharma.

“Due to cataracts in her eyes, she cannot see much. We believe that she is over 100 years old. We do not have documents to prove her age. But all her traits confirm she is a centenarian,” he added.

Vatsala was brought from Kerala to Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh in 1971 when she was over 50 years old. After spending over two decades at the Bori Wildlife Sanctuary in Hoshangabad, she was brought to the Panna National Park in 1993, and has been there since then.

Mahout Ramzan Khan, a "mahout," and fodder cutter Mani Ram also came from Hoshangabad along with Vatsala. They still take care of her at the Panna Tiger Reserve, where she was taken off the roster for being too old for service in 2003.
After retirement, Vatsala has never been used for a ride or any other work.

Ram frequently takes the elephant for walks in the forest.

“I take her for a walk in the forest every day by holding her trunk because she cannot walk very far without support. Younger elephants in the herd also help Vatsala in walking around,” he said.

“The digestive system of the elephant has become weak, so I feed her by cutting grass and sugarcane,” noted Ramzan Khan.

- Very calm, sensitive

According to veterinarian Gupta, Vatsala is extremely calm and sensitive. She is gentle and caring and has become the “grandma” of the herd at Panna. She has the perfect mix of qualities one seeks in a grandparent as she takes care of the calves like a grandmother. In the herd, when an elephant gives birth to a baby, Vatsala also plays the role of a skilled midwife at the time of birth.

“In the initial days, this elephant was engaged in the work of tiger monitoring and ferrying tourists. From 1992 to 2003, she continued doing similar work,” Gupta noted.

He said she is given special rations including porridge, flour, rice, oil, salt, turmeric, jaggery, and sugarcane, in addition to daily medicines.

Vatsala's digestive system, due to her old age, has become weak, so she is given a special, easily digestible diet. Through the efforts and care of the staff at the Panna Tiger Reserve, she is leading a peaceful life after retirement. She cannot see much and cannot walk around but manages to take a walk in the forest at the reserve with the help of staff and herd members.