Emotional farewell of a Tamil Nadu elephant left people teary-eyed

Kaleem, 60, a rescue elephant with the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, was involved in 99 rescue operations across states and received a guard of honour on his retirement day

Kaleem was a kumki, a trained elephant, and used to work in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu.

Animals' relationships with humans have a long history. But seldom do they receive a hero's welcome from humans, and rarely does their departure leave people with heavy hearts and teary eyes.

The rare instance was recorded at the Anamalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, when a retiring elephant from the Tamil Nadu Forest Department received the guard of honour and left people wanting.

Kaleem, one of the country's most experienced kumki (a trained elephant), who turned 60 on Tuesday, was retiring from his services.

The iconic elephant from the Kozhiamuttthi elephant camp received a warm farewell for his extraordinary services in rescue operations.

Our eyes are wet and hearts are full with gratitude as Kaleem the iconic Kumki elephant of the Kozhiamuttthi elephant camp in Tamil Nadu retired today at the age of 60. Involved in 99 rescue operations he is a legend. He received a guard of honour from #TNForest #Kaleem pic.twitter.com/bA1lUOQmTw

— Supriya Sahu IAS (@supriyasahuias) March 7, 2023

The most trusted elephant of the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, Kaleem has been involved in 99 rescue operations across states.

His rescue operations included chasing wild animals from human habitats and capturing jumbos in states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and West Bengal.

The gentle giant has been friendly, intelligent, obedient, and a leader among his fellow kumkis.

A 39-second video of the emotional farewell was posted by Supriya Sahu, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary for Environment Climate Change & Forests, Govt. of Tamil Nadu.

"Our eyes are wet and hearts are full with gratitude as Kaleem the iconic Kumki elephant of the Kozhiamuttthi elephant camp in Tamil Nadu retired today at the age of 60. Involved in 99 rescue operations he is a legend. He received a guard of honour from #TNForest #Kaleem," the tweet read.

The tweet became viral within minutes of being posted. As of writing this article, it has 4.80 lakh views.

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