New Delhi: Dr V Krishnamurthy, a legend in elephant veterinary care, died in Chennai last evening. He was 73.For three decades, Dr Krishnamurthy employed his veterinary skills for the welfare of captive and wild elephants in southern India. Working out of the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, he played a stellar role in the animal welfare standards set by the Mudumalai Elephant Camp.

Several Indian states governments and neighbouring Asian countries called on him to help in wild elephant tranquilisation and captive elephant care. His work inspired a whole generation of elephant lovers, conservationists and veterinarians.

Describing Dr Krishnamurthy as someone who would be sorely missed, Mr Ashok Kumar, Senior Advisor and Trustee, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), said, “He was a legend in his own right. His contribution in the field of medication and care of elephants was exe,plary. A man with such profound knowledge and understanding of elephants cannot be replaced.” Dr Krishnamurthy was given the Venu Menon Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001 for his contribution to elephant conservation.

Dr K, as he was popularly called, spent his entire life in the forests of Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary. Well-known for his humour, Dr K loved the company of animals and people alike. He was not a zoo vet but a wild-life vet, a role model for any youngster aspiring to be a wildlife veterinarian. He continued to be associated with Mudumalai WLS even after his retirement by being the Coordinator of the Elephant Project of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).

The Coordinator of WTI’s Wild Rescue programme, Dr NVK Ashraf, said, “I knew Dr K since my vet college days in the 1980s. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that you cannot find another person like him so committed to the welfare of elephants. He has been an inspiration to many aspiring wildlife veterinarians in India and this I believe is his singlemost important contribution to wildlife conservation.”

After graduating from the Madras Veterinary College, he worked as Field Veterinary Assistant Surgeon in charge of veterinary dispensaries and hospitals for five years from 1952. His interest in elephants, however, had been kindled at the time of his degree convocation ceremony itself. The chief guest there had exhorted the graduates to try their hand at something new, rather than pursue a mundane veterinary practice. The young Krishnamurthy made up his mind then and there. He thought big – he would specialise in elephants.

The going in the early days was nothing worth writing home about – elephants were still a forest away. His transfer from the Sattur sheep farm to the forest department in Coimbatore came as a blessing in disguise. He accepted the posting without blinking an eyelid. But there was a catch – he laid down the condition that he would not be reverted to the parent department – animal husbandry. His plea met no resistance.

Those were times when the techniques deployed to capture wild elephants were being hotly debated. Down in the South, the pit method was used to ensnare tuskers. Up in the North, the usage of chains usually resulted in causing physical discomfiture to the animals. The mortality rate down South was appreciably low.

Krishnamurthy studied the issue in depth, and came to the conclusion that the method of using darts was the safest and most efficient. “This is the method by which the animal can be captured safely. With the help of darting, radio collaring of pachyderms was done which helped in carrying out research works on Asian elephants,” he had asserted in an interview to The Hindu in 1999.

The Tamil Nadu government made him honorary wildlife warden of the Nilgiris. The Kerala Government also presented him a citation and a certificate of merit for his outstanding contribution to the conservation of the Asian elephant, in 1989.