It took a lot of cajoling by forest guards before Rajni, the 10-year-old domesticated female elephant, finally agreed to cut the special cake on her on birthday on Saturday.The Dalma range office hosted the birthday of Rajni, who was rescued as a calf from a well at Ichhagarh village in Seraikela-Kharsawan in 2010, as a part of Wildlife Week. Rajni, the darling of foresters and villagers of Makulakocha at Dalma foothills, cut the 20-pound cake with the help of range officers R.P. Singh and Dinesh Chandra.Schoolchildren from in and around the Dalma sanctuary, who participated in the birthday celebration, were preached about the need to preserve the country’s animals.

Chief wildlife warden A.K. Suman, Dalma divisional forest officer C.M.P. Sinha, foresters, guards and trackers (village youths who work for daily wage to keep a tab on movement of elephants and other animals) were present on the occasion. They clapped and greeted Rajni as she sliced the cake.

“Rajni was made to get hold of a sharp-edged wood on her trunk to cut the cake. Things went off smoothly after some teething problems. Pieces of cake was given to her, Champa and Lakshmi (the two other female domesticated elephants) and to the schoolkids,” Dalma range officer (West) Dinesh Chandra said.

Rajni has been fully domesticated and has become friendly to foresters and villagers. Some of them also worship her. Jiten Mahto, a resident of Makulokocha village, said: “The elephant is very shy and sometimes ventures into our village. She stands in front of houses to ask for food. We give her jaggery and flour.”

Rajni, Champa and Lakshmi are taken for walks by their mahouts inside the sanctuary every morning. The three get back to their Makulakocha home by the evening.The Dalma authorities had decided to release the elephants inside the sanctuary but shelved the plan as they were afraid the trio might not be accepted by their wild counterparts and might get killed.

Champa was rescued in 2010 from the clutches of beggars in Jamtara while Lakshmi was found in Deogarh with a fractured limb earlier this year.