Genetic ID’s for Jumbos: No respite from captivity

A unique initiative of the state government and Rajiv Gandhi Center for Biotechnology (RGCB) has led to the development of a new database of captive elephants in Kerala, based on their own genetic IDs. Encompassing the data of 519 elephants, the records are meant to resolve the issues of data forgery, ownership, and other malpractices of the trade, the officials claim.

M. Radhakrishna Pillai, Director, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB), was given the humongous task. He handed over the DNA database, prototypes of Unique Identification Cards, and a study report to the Forest Department’s Chief Wildlife Warden P.C. Kesavan on Tuesday, The Hindu reported.

As per PTI reports, in a first of its kind initiative, the forest department had collected the blood samples of tuskers based on which the RGCB experts had prepared the DNA fingerprint of each elephant using the Micro-satellite Marker technique. “The Department is now planning to develop a mobile app to make use of the information available in the database,” the release said.

Elephants are indispensable in Kerala’s culture. They are a part of the temples, they feature in the festivals and also are employed sometimes to tame other elephants, as witnessed in Coimbatore elephant relocation. Elephants are the state animal of Kerala and are also featured in the govt emblem.

Nevertheless, the plight of the captive elephants cannot go unnoticed. Creatures of the wild, there are hundreds of elephants in Kerala who belong to the temples. Domesticated for purposes like entertainment, taming other elephants, tourism and traditional processions, the captive elephants rarely find themselves at par with their wild counterparts. Malnourished and emotionally tortured, their plight has been empathised by humanists and often found an outlet in media culture. “Temple elephants… and what lies beneath” a 2015 Peepli blog is amongst a study that talks about how elephants have met inhuman treatment.

Filmmaker and media person P. Balan, while talking about his award-winning film The 18th Elephant Three Monologues, with The Hindu, early in 2015, said: “It [Elephant] is a symbol of the negative influence that human beings have on the world around us.” The documentary was on the plight of domesticated elephants and it went on to win much acclaim, including three national awards. It was also screened at many international festivals like the prestigious biennial environmental film festival at Bristol, the U.K. often termed as `Green Oscar’, The Hindu reported.

The move by the state could result in the betterment of the giants as it can help check illegal poaching and trade; their captivity, however, remains an issue for another day.

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Annual rejuvenation camp for TN temple elephants begins

The 11th edition of annual rejuvenation camp for temple elephants in Tamil Nadu began at Thekkampatti on the banks of Bhavani River on Friday.

State Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister Sevoor S Ramachandran inaugurated the camp along with forest minister Dindigul Serinivasan and Municipal Administration Minister S P Velumani.

Ramachandran said 27 elephants from various temples and mutts had been brought for participation in the 48-day camp, a pet project of late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.

Adequate medical care will be provided to the elephants at the camp, with special veterinarian teams, he said adding nutritious food with special diet would be given.

Meanwhile, about 40 farmers of surrounding 23 villages attempted to stage a picketing of the road near the venue, opposing the camp at the location, claiming threat to the people and crops by wild elephants which stray into their area in view of the presence of temple jumbos.

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Preparations on for temple elephant camp; farmers seek change of venue

COIMBATORE: The rejuvenation camp for temple elephants from across
the state is likely to begin on the banks of Bhavani river at Thekkampattti
in the district this month amidst protests from farmers in the area, demanding change of venue.

Over the past few days, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments
(HR&CE) department officials have been readying the area on the banks
of Bhavani river for the camp. While work on erecting cooking area and
accommodation for mahouts is underway, bathing area for elephants has already been set up.

HR&CE officials said they had received orders for getting the area ready
and were working on it. “The date for the camp is not confirmed yet. It
might be held within this month,” an officer, who didn’t want to be named, said.

Meanwhile, farmers from Thekkampatti and surrounding areas have raised concerns about the camp being held in the area.

Members of the Thekkampatti 23 Village Farmers’ Coordinating Committee said they have filed a writ petition against the camp’s location. T Pandurangan, president of the committee, said they had filed the writ on November 28.

Pandurangan said after the camp was shifted from Nilgiris to Thekkampatti in 2013, the frequency of wild elephants straying into surrounding villages has gone up. “Many people have lost their lives due to this. Also, elephant are raiding our farmlands, damaging crops,” he said.

He said the Bhavani river at Thekkampatti was the starting point of several potable water schemes to areas such as Mettupalayam, Tondamuthur, Vadavalli and Karamadai. “As the camp is conducted here, the water gets polluted due to the waste generated from the camp,” he said.

Members of the farmers’ group said the camp was likely to begin on December 14. “So, we have decided to hoist black flags in our houses from Friday. On the inaugural day of the camp, we have decided to conduct a protest in front of the camp site,” Pandurangan said.

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Chained, beaten, whipped and exploited like slaves: The hidden horrors meted out to India's temple elephants

When Audrey Gaffney first read about Raju, an elephant kept in chains with spikes embedded in his ankles, she couldn’t stop the tears pouring down her face. “In fact, I cried again and again: I found over the next few days I just couldn’t get this story out of my head, I couldn’t stop thinking about Raju,” she recalls.

“I couldn’t believe the cruelty of my race.”

The young elephant had been snatched from his family, she explains – his mother either would have been killed or spent weeks searching and crying for him – and he was beaten into submission. Raju then spent the next 50 years forced by his handler to beg in the street, starved, frightened and suffering infected wounds to his flesh. By the time of his rescue, he had resorted to eating plastic and paper.

Going on to discover that Raju was just one of thousands of elephants treated this way in India, Ms Gaffney, a single mother from Liverpool, was spurred into becoming an activist for the first time. In the four years since, she says, her life has changed beyond recognition as she dropped her wariness of social media and teamed up with other volunteers working to raise awareness of the horrors to which the temple elephants of India are subjected.

Taken from their families in the wild, shackled, beaten, whipped and exploited like slaves, these elephants – ironically India’s icons – are painted and dressed in colourful decorations, to be paraded in regular festivals and processions organised by religious temples.


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Elephants will be paraded at shrine: temple body

The president of the board, A Padmakumar said it was not keen to make any change to the age-old traditions of the temple for now. A 'devaprashnam,' the astrological consultation, would soon be conducted at the shrine to know the 'divine will' in continuing the tradition of using elephants for the temple ceremonies.


He said the Forest Department and some others were opposing the parading of elephants in the wake of the recent incident. "We will not let anyone interfere in the ritualistic affairs of the temple. We will act only according to the suggestions that come up at the devaprashnam," Padmakumar told PTI.

"If the devaprashnam suggests to continue with the parading of the elephants, we will abide by it come what may. However, if the divine will is against it, we will not continue the practice," he added. The devaprashnam is to be held in the Malayalam month of 'Edavam' (May-June), Padmakumar said.

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Gajraj was brought to the royal family of Aundh, Satara, at the age of 12 from the wild in 1965

After five decades as a slave as a temple elephant with a royal family in Maharashtra, a 70-year-old male elephant, Gajraj, was rescued by the state forest department and NGOs on Wednesday. He will be sent to an elephant rehabilitation centre in Mathura. Gajraj reached Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, and will reach Mathura on Saturday.

Gajraj was brought to the royal family of Aundh, Satara, at the age of 12 from the wild in 1965, as a gift to the queen at her wedding. He was made to travel 800-kilometres from Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, to Satara, Maharashtra, which took almost a-month-and-a-half.

The rescue operation on Wednesday, led by NGO Wildlife SOS, was marred by locals from the village as they pelted stones at the rescue team since the elephant was an icon of worship, and was made to perform duties at the temple and during various festivals. “Our entire team was in a lot of danger as we were attacked by stones, but police presence helped us move the elephant and our team to safety,” said Wasim Akram, Wildlife SOS coordinator.

According to the elephant’s current medical examination, Gajraj developed partial blindness and a toenail abscess which could spread to the bone. He also has abscesses in the hip and his foot pads suffered severe degeneration. “Being chained for most of his life has had a detrimental effect on Gajraj’s health. He has lost weight and has nutritional deficiencies,” said Dr Yaduraj Khadpekar, senior veterinarian, Wildlife SOS.

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Ageing temple elephant sent to care home in Mathura

Seventy-year-old Gajraj is finally free after being rescued by animal rights activists, and is being transferred to the lifetime care of Wildlife SOS at their Elephant Care and Conservation Center (ECCC) in Mathura.

Wildlife SOS rescued the elephant from Aundh in Satara district amidst heavy police protection with cooperation from the Forest Department.

The elephant, belonging to the Queen of Aundh, was used in temple processions for over 51 years.

With advancing age, the elephant was found to be suffering from several medical issues like foot abscess, partial blindness etc.

Gajraj performed his duties for over five decades as a temple elephant where local devotees saw him as an icon of worship, as he played an important role in festivities and temple processions.

His long journey as a temple elephant came to an abrupt end on Thursday, as he finally retired and was moved in an ambulance from Satara to Mathura for his long-term medical treatment and lifetime care.

A PETA campaign brought attention to Gajraj’s plight.

A medical examination had revealed that Gajraj required medical attention for his toenail abscess, which could spread to the bone in addition to the hip abscesses, while his foot pads suffered severe degeneration. This made him a candidate for geriatric life time care at the Wildlife SOS Elephant Center.

The royal family of Aundh gave him a warm farewell. The local villagers, however, became very emotional and hostile.

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Temple elephant flings stone at mahout who succumbs to injuries in Alathur , Palakkad

Thiruvananthapuram,May4: In a fit of rage, an elephant, taken for a temple festival
to Palakkad district, hurled a stone at its mahout, causing him to die of grievous head
injuries.

The incident occurred two weeks ago at Alathur in Palakkad during a temple festival, when
the animal ran amok, picked up a stone with its trunk and hurled it at the 49­year­old
mahout.

The injured man was taken to a local hospital, and later shifted to Kottayam Medical
College Hospital, where he died on Monday, hospital sources said.

Dr Balakrishnan, neurology department head, told PTI that probably the victim’s brain
was shattered in the impact of the hit.

Mahouts being killed by elephants during must is a routine affair in Kerala, especially during

temple festivals. Musth is a periodic condition in bull (male) elephants, characterised by highly

aggressive behaviour and accompanied by a large rise in reproductive hormones.

According to V K Venkatachalam, secretary, Heritage Animal Task Force, three mahouts

have become victims of jumbo fury in the State in the last 10 days in different incidents in Thiruvanathapuram, Parasala and Palakkad. Ten elephants have died in Kerala since January this year during temple festivities, he added.

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Elephant rejuvenation camp concludes

COIMBATORE: After 48 days of unwinding and rejuvenation, 34 temple elephants from different parts of Tamil Nadu left the annual camp on the banks of Bhavani river at Thekkumpatti near Mettupalayam here on Saturday evening to their respective places. The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department had organized the camp in the proximity of famous Vanabadrakaliamman Temple to help the temple elephants regain their vitality. For the first time, the camp was organized in the plains to avoid elephants travelling log distance in trucks through the steep Nilgiri ghat roads to reach Mudumalai elephant camp.

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