Ronaldo, the wild bull elephant, around 53 years old, who spent more than two decades roaming Chitwan National Park and became one of its most recognizable residents, was found dead Saturday morning near Bishazari Tal apparently electrocuted by a stray security-post wire he grabbed with his trunk while feeding.
According to Abinash Thapa Magar, Chitwan National Park's information officer, a postmortem found an electrical wire inside Ronaldo's mouth. The wire had been strung roughly 16 to 17 feet above the ground to power a Nepal Army security post in the Barandabhar area. Investigators believe Ronaldo pulled the wire down with his trunk while moving through the area and was electrocuted. He was found near the Bishazari post, his tusks were removed, and he was cremated according to religious rites.
Ronaldo first showed up in the Sauraha area about 24 years ago, right around when Brazilian football star Ronaldo Nazário was dominating headlines during the 2002 World Cup. Local guides thought the elephant moved with the same kind of agility, started calling him Ronaldo and the name simply stuck for the rest of his life.
He wasn't just any elephant. Park officials say Ronaldo fathered somewhere between 33 and 38 calves at the Khorsor breeding centre . Six of the seven elephants currently at Khorsor are his offspring making him one of the most genetically important bull elephants in the park's conservation program, and his death has left conservationists worried about what comes next for the park's younger males and its breeding future.
