Mysuru, July 18 -- Forest Dept. struggles to assemble female elephant squad as Lakshmi, Hiranya are pregnant

The Forest Department is facing an unexpected challenge in assembling the female elephant squad for the upcoming Dasara procession, as two of the five shortlisted elephants have been found to be pregnant.

Last year, Lakshmi and Hiranya from Rampura camp in Bandipur Tiger Reserve marched gracefully alongside Abhimanyu, the lead elephant carrying the Golden Howdah during the grand Jumboo Savari. Both were strong contenders for this year's team and had already undergone initial health evaluations.

However, recent urine tests revealed signs of pregnancy in both elephants. To confirm, they were also subjected to faecal pregnancy test...