Brahmin will bless baby elephant (From Worcester News)

Brahmin will bless baby elephant

3:17pm Monday 19th October 2009 in

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Ganesh Vijay, the first elephant calf born at Twycross Zoo by Artificial Insemination (A.I.), will be formally named and blessed for good health during a traditional Hindu ceremony. This will be carried out by a Brahmin (Hindu priest) on 21st October 2009 at 2.30 pm.

The blessing will be led by Brahmin Shree Mahendra Pandya from Leicester who will pray that the baby brings happiness to the zoo and its visitors. During the ceremony a red dot will be placed on the head of the calf and a sweet will be offered to him by the Brahmin.

The ten week old Asian elephant calf was named Ganesh by Nadhini and Ria, winners of “name the baby elephant” a competition run by Sabras Sound Radio. His keepers gave him his second name Vijay which means victory.

Suzanne Boardman, Twycross Zoo Director said, “We are delighted to have Ganesh Vijay blessed by the Brahmin. The arrival of the calf has created lots of excitement and he is a definite crowd pleaser especially amongst the young children. He has regular times in the outdoor enclosure where the visitors are able to take delightful pictures of him.”

Ganesh Vijay was born on 6th August 2009; he was just over a metre tall and weighed 100 kg (nearly 16 stone) at birth. He has a comical character, kicking the sand and leaning on his mum when he has a nap in the day.

Asian elephants are endangered due to hunting and habitat loss and captive breeding programmes are essential to ensure the survival of this species. With the global response to the challenges of conservation we can only have hope for the future of wildlife.