Mysuru Dasara Ambari elephant Balarama no more!

Hunsur: In a tragic turn of events, Balarama, the elephant who had carried the Ambari 14 times during the world-famous Mysuru Dasara, died on Sunday.

The 67-year-old elephant had been critically ill and was under the care of a veterinarians at the Bhimanakatte elephant camp in the Hunsur range of the Nagarhole park. Despite the efforts of the medical team, Balarama’s condition continued to deteriorate.

According to reports, Balarama had been recovering from an ulcer in his mouth for the past ten days, but the veterinarian treating him suspected that he may have been suffering from tuberculosis. The exact disease will be known only after the medical report is released.

The team of veterinarians, led by Dr. Ramesh, was providing on-site treatment for Balarama. Forest officials, including RFO Ratnakar, DRFO Siddharaju, and Nagarahole Park chief Harsha Kumar Chikkanaragunda, as well as Balarama’s mahout Thimma, Kavadi Manjanath, and other staff, had been supporting the elephant’s care.

Due to his condition, Balarama was unable to eat solid food and had been given soft food like ragi porridge, millet flour, bananas, and watermelons.