Hathi
April 16, 2021 6:08 PM   Subscribe

Hathi: a token gift from India of a baby elephant for the Kabul Zoo "It was the latest expression of the centuries-old cultural and historical ties between the two nations... The diplomatic relationship was built on a bedrock of shared culture, and the gift of Hathi was an act in which history, regional bonhomie, pop culture and diplomacy merrily coalesced."
posted by dhruva (2 comments total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
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posted by lapolla at 10:49 PM on April 16, 2021


From the article: It is unlikely, however, that an elephant will be crossing India’s borders as part of a diplomatic gesture any time soon. At the urging of animal rights groups, in 2005, the Manmohan Singh-led government imposed a ban on the practice of giving away animals as diplomatic gifts. Hathi had no successors.

Poor Hathi. Though the article focuses on the war, her tragedy began well before that, when she was torn from her family/social group and sent to an unfamiliar land to spend the rest of her life in a too-small space with no other members of her species.

The Detroit Zoo was the first large zoo in the US to stop keeping elephants on ethical grounds. For a happier story, read about Wanda and Winky, who were surrendered by the zoo to a sanctuary in California, where they lived out the rest of their lives.
posted by FencingGal at 8:32 AM on April 17, 2021 [2 favorites]


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