Special diet for Dasara jumbos to gain weight

In order to make Dasara elephants physically fit for the Jamboo Savari, the authorities will put the elephants under a balanced diet.

The first batch of nine Dasara elephants, which are camping on Mysuru Palace premises, will be under a full-fledged special and nutritious diet. Now, the authorities are feeding one kilo of mixed grains to the pachyderms twice a day.

The elephants are the major attraction of the Dasara festivities, especially Jamboo Savari, on October 5, the Vijayadashami day. This year, Dasara will commence on September 26.

Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) V Karikalan said, the elephants will be put under full fledged diet once the rehearsal begins. The rehearsal is likely to begin on August 14, he said.

Under the special diet, the elephants will be served food consisting of urad dal, green gram, wheat, boiled rice, vegetables, rice, groundnut, coconut, jaggery, butter and ragi balls. The regular diet is hay, jaggery, paddy, coconut and cattle feed. Besides, vegetables, green grass and banyan leaves are served to the elephants.

The food is served twice a day — morning and evening. The food is prepared under special care by mahouts and kavadis. The preparation is monitored by forest officials and veterinarians to ensure safety.

The elephants will gain up to 300 to 500 kg weight by the end of Dasara season. Now, Abhimanyu, the howdah carrier, weighs 4,770 kg, the senior most Dasara elephant Arjuna is the heaviest with 5,725 kilograms, among the other Dasara elephants.