Guwahati, July 5 -- An era in the conservation history of Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) came to a close with the death of Joymala, the reserve's legendary patrol elephant whose 34 years of service made her one of the most recognisable symbols of its anti-poaching and wildlife protection efforts. The 66-year-old elephant, honoured with a ceremonial guard of honour after her death, had become a silent yet steadfast guardian of the UNESCO World Heritage site.

Born in 1960, Joymala joined Kaziranga's elephant patrol unit in 1992 and spent more than three decades assisting frontline forest staff in anti-poaching operations, wildlife monitoring, rescue missions and routine forest patrols across the park's difficult terrain....