Bhogeshwara, also known as Mr Kabini was a bull-elephant renowned for his tusks and was probably the elephant with the longest tusks in Asia. The name mostly because of the bull elephant being often seen near the Bhogeswara camp near the Kabini backwaters.
He died of natural causes at the age of 60 in Jun 2022. His tusks were more than 2.5m(7.5 ft) long. An elephant is known to have a life span of 100 years, but when the elephants age, they start to develop difficulty in feeding due to the wearing of their teeth. Elephants consume >150 KGs of green per day and lack of sufficient eating is suspected to be the cause of his death.
He was often seen on the banks of Kabini backwaters. People who have visited Nagarhole Tiger Reserve during the May-July have had the privilege to observe this gentle giant. He used to be a seasonal mover among the forests of Nagarhole and Bandipur, often following the green grass. The tusker generally used to be very calm and true to the kannada phrase “Gaja Gambheerya”, which can be roughly translated as “Elephant is dignity personified”. Never, known to charge at tourist vehicles or show any aggressive behaviour, his mammoth like tusks attracted wildlife lovers from all over the world. He was a wildlife photographer’s delight and posed for the shutterbugs like no other elephant did.
I have been watching this huge tusker on the green plains of Kabini backwaters since 2017. It has been a pleasure to photograph the magnificent beast on more than one occasion. The tusks were mostly identical in length and I could not appreciate the symmetry of his tusks more. He was the prime attraction of many wildlife photographers for a long time. People simply thronged to watch and photograph him. The backwaters was one of his favourite haunt, particularly the sunset point of Kabini tourism zone. The fresh green grass on the banks of a river’s backwaters are very sweet for the pachyderms and this fellow simply loved it. Plucking the grass gently out of the ground so as to not hurt the ground beneath, making a small pile in his trunk, tenderly stroking them against his own legs to get rid of the associated mud and feeding nonchalantly in the presence of tourists was a sight to behold.
Fortunately for Nagarhole Tiger Reserve, wildlife enthusiasts have spotted 3 more tuskers who have long tusks. Though they are not as long as Bhogeshwara, they beget a lot of promise. When elephants numbers are dwindling at an alarming rate, everywhere in the world and in India too, it simply paints a picture of hope and positivity of the times to come. I truly pray for their resurgence in our forests and hope that the ever-greedy mankind does not intrude into their last remaining pockets, in the name of development.
Content and Images : Subramanya Chandrashekar.
Subramanya is a research engineer by profession and a passionate wildlife photographer by hobby. His work can be observed at www.subramanyachandrashekar.com or followed on Instagram handle: subramanya.c
