Jaipur's Pink Elephant Died Of Cardiac Failure, Postmortem Confirms, Animal Lovers Seek Ban On Elephant Safari

The Viral photoshoot of an elephant painted pink by a foreign photographer in Jaipur continues to spark a heated controversy. Animal lovers criticising photographers for the shoot and calling this animal cruelty. 

These photos and videos were clicked by Art photographer Julia Buruleva, who shared photos and videos from the shoot on social media on February 18, which quickly went viral. After that the images draw sharp criticism online. 

Actress and animal lover associated with PETA Rupali Ganguly even wrote a letter to the Prime Minister demanding a ban on elephant rides. Animal lovers have labeled the shoot as cruel, holding the elephant's owner, the photographer, and the forest department accountable.

The elephant in the shoot, a female named Chanchal, died in February. News of her death has fueled the outrage, with activists blaming the photoshoot for her demise.  

NDTV's investigation reveals otherwise. Elephant Village Committee President Ballu Khan dismissed the claims as baseless. He clarified that the shoot happened about a year ago. Chanchal was around 65-70 years old. She was painted with gulal, the powder used in Holi celebrations, and the color was washed off after about half an hour.

Further probing by NDTV included reviewing Chanchal's postmortem report. Report states that she died on February 4, 2026, at 3:30 PM, at the age of 67. The cause was natural, cardiac arrest due to old age.

Dr. Arvind Mathur who was the part of the postmortem panel, confirmed the elephant was 67 years old and died from cardio Respiratory failure. "Her death was entirely natural and unrelated to the gulal painting incident," he said to NDTV. 

 After the controversy sparked, Julia Buruleva posted a clarification on Instagram. She posted a post saying "How we painted the elephant in Jaipur, Watch Behind the scenes." She further writes about the inspiration behind the idea with the struggle of finding a perfect location and model for the shoot. 

At the end of the post she writes,"For anyone worried about the elephant - we used organic, locally-made paint, the same kind locals use for festivals so it was absolutely safe for the animal.

In India the only thing that really works is praying for the project's success. Other methods? Almost useless. The prayers were answered." 

However after this whole controversy erupted on social media. The forest department is now investigating this matter.