Bijuli Prasad one of the oldest elephant in the world dies

One of the world's oldest elephants named Bijuli Prasad died on an Indian tea farm at an estimated age of 89 on 21 August 2023. The elephant was brought to work on a tea estate by a British farmer during colonial rule in the 1940s. 

"Bijuli Prasad"  was taken from the wild as a young bull and worked on tea farms in India's eastern state of Assam's Sonitpur district until 2018. He was retired to the Behali Tea Estate in Assam, where he died on 21 August 2023. 

He was given a proper burial with Hindu rituals carried out by a priest.

According to experts, normally domesticated elephants live upto 80 years of age if they are taken care of. 

In the wild, Asian elephants typically live into their mid-50s. The oldest known elephant died aged 86 in Taiwan in Taipei Zoo in 2003, according to Guinness World Records.

The Asian elephant called "Lin Wang" or "Grandpa Lin", carried supplies through what was then Burma for Japanese forces in World War II.

Interesting facts about Elephants:

• Elephants are the largest land mammals on earth. The African Savanna (Bush) elephant is the world's largest land animal. 
• Worldwide Elephants are divided into three species -African Savanna (Bush), African Forest and Asian .
•  On average, an elephant can feed up to 18 hours and consume hundreds of pounds of plant matter in a single day. As a result, as they lose habitat, they often come into conflict with people in competition for resources.
• The elephant herd is always led by a female elephant .
•  A single calf is born to a female once every four to five years and after a gestation period of 22 months—the longest of any mammal.
• The elephant trunk serves as a nose, a hand, an extra foot, a signaling device and a tool for gathering food, siphoning water, dusting, digging and much more.
• The elephant is the only mammal that can’t jump.
• The elephant is the national animal of Thailand.
• Elephants don’t drink with their trunks but instead use them as a glass holding the water then pouring it into their mouths.