As a tribute to actor Puneet Rajkumar, whose His untimely demise left his fans in shockSakrebelu Elephant Camp in Shivamogga, Karnataka named an elephant baby after ‘Power Star’.
Deputy Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Nagraj said the gesture was symbolic of the memory of the actor’s visit to the camp a few days before his death.
The elephant was named after the actor during weaning, a process in which the baby elephant is separated from its mother.
“The mother of the baby elephant, Nethra had a difficult time when the calf was rescued from her. It is a tradition that a baby elephant is weaned from its mother after it is two years old. This year the process was delayed due to heavy rains. Usually, the baby elephant is tied up inside the forest area, and we bring the mother to the camp. This was the first time that we brought the baby elephant to the campsite and tied the mother inside the forest for about 2 km. If weaning is delayed, it becomes difficult to tame the elephant. Hence, we adopt this process after the elephant completes two years,” explained the DCF.
Following the camp’s tradition of naming the elephant during weaning, the DCF said, “During this process we named the elephant after the actor.”
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