In light of the tragic death of a pregnant elephant in Kerala comes a contrasting story of goodwill and love. As gesture of gratitude and love, a man in Bihar has bequeathed his entire land to his elephants, reported news agency IANS.
50-year-old Mohammad Akhtar, who lives in Janipur in Phulwari Sharif near Patna, has two elephants - Moti, aged 20, and Rani, aged 15. Moti and Rani are the children of heritage elephants handed down to Akhtar but Akhtar practically thinks of them as a family!
Recently, in order to ensure the wellbeing of his elephants, he bequeathed 6.25 acres of land for Moti and Rani so that in case of his death, they do not suffer.
Akhtar is also the chief of Asian Elephant Rehabilitation and Wildlife Animal Trust.
The bond between the elephants and Akhtar is a unique symbiotic one where they both look out for each other. Akhtar even shared a particular incident with IANS when Moti saved his life. Speaking to the agency, he said that once Moti had gone to Bhojpur district with a mahout. Once there, Moti fell ill and Akhtar had to rush to take care of him. During Akhtar’s stay there, one night he was suddenly woken up by Moti’s roar.
He opened his eyes to see that a man was pointing a gun at him from right outside his window. Akhtar ran for his life.
But Akhtar’s unique gesture of leaving behind his land for his elephants comes at a price. The decision hasn’t gone down well with his human family and worries that they might try to harm him. In fact, he has also written to Chief the Wildlife Warden and Patna police saying that he feels unsafe and threatened by his family members.
This story of Akhtar and his two elephants comes at a time when there is much talk about animal cruelty and just how humans treat animals. Akhtar’s story is a ray of hope. Here’s hoping there are more such kind souls out there!
(With inputs from News18)
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