Ranji, a female elephant undergoing rehab at Dalma wildlife sanctuary, turned 11 on Wednesday. Like every year, foresters celebrated her birthday.

The celebration was kept simple owing to the pandemic, znd was attended by forest guards, a few members of eco development committees, and village chiefs.

Rajni was helped to slice an 18-pound cake, as Dalma range officer (West) Dinesh Chandra and guards fed her bananas in the presence of Champa, Rajni’s 60-plus year old companion.

“We celebrate Rajni’s birthday every year. It makes us happy and we also feel we care about animals. We did not invite government school children and animal lovers this time since the pandemic forced us to keep things simple,” said Chandra.

Rajni was rescued from inside a well in Ichapur village of Seraikela-Kharsawan in 2010 and was subsequenty brought to Dalma for rehab. She was earlier treated for her injuries at Tata Steel Zoological Park hospital in Jamshedpur.

The elephant, who loves to play with village boys and girls, lives with Champa under a shade at Makulakocha, the main entrance to the sprawling sanctuary, 30 km from Jamshedpur. Champa was rescued from the clutches of beggars in Jamtara in 2010.