Shivamogga: As a special tribute and memorial, the forest department has named a baby elephant at Sakrebailu Elephant Camp was named after the ‘Power Star’ Puneeth Rajkumar.
During his visit to the elephant camp two months before his untimely death, Puneeth Rajkumar had taken a keen interest in the baby elephant and had even affectionately petted it. In this context, the forest department has now named the baby elephant ‘Puneeth Rajkumar’ as a tribute to the late superstar.
The naming ceremony was held today, during a weening ceremony held to separate the calf from its mother ‘Netra’ at the Sakrebailu Elephant Camp.
This is a special exception. Until now, the elephant calves were named given names of deities or senior forest department officials. This is the first time an elephant calf is being named after a film actor.