Assam: Oldest Asiatic elephant in India, Bijuli Prasad no more

Bijuli Prasad was the oldest domestic elephant in India as per official records. The average life span of the species is between 62 to 65 but in the case of Bijuli Prasad, special care was taken Bijuli Prasad under the directions of Padma Shri awardee and famous elephant surgeon Dr Kushal Konwar Sarma.

"After all its teeth fell off around 8-10 years ago, Bijuli Prasad could not eat anything and was about to die. Then I went there and treated him. I had changed all his regular food and started mostly boiled food like rice and soybean with high protein value. This increased his longevity," Sarma said in an interaction with the Press Trust of India.

Bijuli Prasad passed away at the Behali tea estate of The Williamson Magor Group at 3.30 am due to complications that had stemmed from old age, as per a report by the Press Trust of India.

"Bijuli Prasad was a symbol of pride for The Williamson Magor Group. It was first brought to the Bargang tea estate as a calf, and later shifted here after the Bargang tea estate was sold off by the company," a representative of the group had said. 

Bijuli Prasad’s absence was felt across the estate and many workers as well as residents of the area had gathered for the mourning.