Sambalpur: Khersel, a 65-year-old elephant, passed away on Monday at the Hirakud Wildlife Division in the Sambalpur district of Odisha due to old age.

The last rites were performed on September 2nd, 2024, with the staff, caretakers, mahout, and local villagers in attendance. Khersel was laid to rest under the Ficus tree where it resided, and a memorial board is being prepared for the burial site.

Over the past 5-6 months, Khersel began to eat and walk slowly, prompting veterinarians to start treatment for age-related conditions, under the guidance of Dr. Indramani Nath from the Centre of Wildlife Studies, Bhubaneswar. Since August 24th, 2024, Khersel has been under the care of zoo veterinarians and VAS Burla, receiving saline, injections, and other medications due to its inability to eat and walk properly. Therapy lights for relaxation were also used. On August 23rd, 2024, Khersel went to the Hirakud reservoir with its mahout for a routine walk and bath. Afterwards, Khersel preferred to lie down rather than stand and thus continued to receive saline, medication, and light therapy. In 2022, Dr. Indramani Nath performed eye surgery on Khersel for age-related vision problems.

Khersel was transferred from Bolangir in 1998 after being tranquillized and captured by the forest department for causing human fatalities. It suffered partial blindness during capture and attempted to escape from its mahout several times when younger, between 2005-2009. From 2018-19, the sanctuary restricted Khersel’s movements, limiting it to walks to the reservoir for baths as it began experiencing muscle and foot pain, along with blurred vision.