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Journalism of Courage
In 1996, a 26-month-old elephant was brought to India after Zimbabwe presented the tusker as a diplomatic gift and placed in the Delhi zoo. He was named Shankar after Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma, who was the president of India then.
Now, animal activists want the tusker to be returned to a wildlife refuge or sanctuary in the company of other African elephants.
Nikita Dhawan, the founder of the non-profit Youth For Animals, along with Nandika Karunakaram has said in a petition on Change.org to Sonali Ghosh, the Director of Delhi zoo, Shankar has been kept in inhumane conditions. Dhawan also pointed out that the Shankar has been alone after his companion, another African elephant named Bambai, died in 2005.
“Shankar is chained for 17 hours of the day and does not have adequate space to move around when he is let out. Much like humans, elephants are social beings and suffer neurological distress when put in solitary confinement. Shankar constantly demonstrates stereotypical behaviour like swaying and head-bobbing, a key sign of distress,” Dhawan wrote in her petition.
So far 1,02,182 people have signed the petition.
https://twitter.com/FayvanDunk/status/1488593223081725953
Authorities at the Delhi zoo have said they are trying to find a companion for Shankar. In November last year, Sonali told the Indian Express, “I have written to parks in Africa on whether there is a possibility of finding a mate for the animal, or if they want to take the elephant back. We have sent a team to the Mathura elephant care facility to look at what all can be done in terms of enrichment.”
Experts say African elephants can not be placed with Asian tuskers, which makes the task of finding a companion for Shankar difficult.
You can read more about the petition to free Shankar here: https://www.change.org/p/freeshankardelhizoo-help-free-shankar-24-year-old-male-african-elephant-from-his-solitary-confinement-at-the-delhi-zoo-follow-our-campaign-page-for-updates-bit-ly-freeshankar
