Elderly skeletal elephant spared Sri Lanka parade

A skeletal 70-year-old elephant has been withdrawn from a high-profile annual Buddhist pageant in Sri Lanka following a social media firestorm against parading the feeble animal.

The chief custodian of the Temple of the Tooth -- which organises the event -- Pradeep Nilanga Dela said Tikiri would not be part of Wednesday's grand finale, involving dozens of jumbos.

Dela said the elephant's "medical condition" meant her owners told him she would not be part of Kandy city's parade and told AFP by telephone, "Tikiri is being treated."
"No one sees her bony body or her weakened condition, because of her costume," Chailert said. "No one sees the tears in her eyes, injured by the bright lights that decorate her mask, no one sees her difficulty to step as her legs are short shackled while she walks."