Bheema is the heaviest Dasara jumbo
Ahead of their training for the famed Jamboo Savari, all nine Dasara elephants had their weights checked on Monday before beginning their daily practice sessions for the grand procession, which is witnessed by lakhs of people.
The first batch of elephants arrived here a week ago from their respective jungle camps and were camping at Aranya Bhavan before they were formally welcomed into the palace premises during a grand event held on Sunday evening.
Abhimanyu is leading the jumbo team. The elephants, mahouts and kavadis, and their family members are camping on the palace premises with all arrangements made by the district administration for their stay.
Like every year, it is customary that the weight of jumbos is checked once they arrive from their respective jungle camps since the forest authorities will get to know the weight of each elephant and accordingly plan their diet during their stay. They are fed nutritious foods to keep them fit and healthy, and successfully undergo training.
Surprisingly, tusker Bheema is heavier than Abhimanyu, the lead elephant. Bheema is the heaviest among the nine elephants, as it weighed 5,465 kg at a weigh bridge here on Monday. The 59-year-old Abhimanyu, which carries the 750-kg golden howdah, is the second heaviest as it weighed 5,360 kg.
The Abhimanyu is the most versatile with the reputation of carrying out its tasks perfectly with finesse, including the Dasara tasks, as well as the forest operations for catching wild elephants or during operations to capture tigers.
The third heaviest jumbo in the team is Dhananjaya, which weighed 5,310 kg. The fourth heaviest is Ekalavya, which weighed 5,305 kg, followed by Mahendra, which weighed 5,120 kg. It is Ekavalya's second Dasara. Prashanth weighed 5,110 kg – ten kg short of Mahendra's weight. The weight of other elephants is like this – Kanjan 4,880 kg, Lakshmi 3,730 kg, and Kaveri 3,010.
Bheema has significantly gained weight when compared to last year. The young elephant weighed 4,945 kilos last year. Abhimanyu weighed 5,560 kg last year.
Speaking to reporters, Deputy Conservator of Forest Prabhu Gowda said the weight of elephants are checked before their 'taleem' (training) in order to prepare each jumbo's diet chart and prepare them for the tasks ahead of the Jamboo Savari. 'The diet chart will be prepared after discussions with the veterinarians. All elephants have good weights and are in good health. More proteins are added to their diet chart. Once the chart is prepared, the daily training will commence,' he said.
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