Six Captive Elephants Have Died In Kerala In Just One Month And It's Time To Raise An Alarm!

Caparisoned elephants have become synonymous with temple festivals in Kerala. Across the state, temples compete to outdo each other by parading the most number of elephants and the most sought-after ones for their festivals, as a matter of prestige.

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Beginning with December, this is the peak of the festival season in Kerala. It will continue until May. With so many temple festivals the elephants are in high demand, often being shuttling from temple to another without proper rest or food and water. This often leaves the mighty beasts vulnerable and weak, and in some extreme cases leading to even deaths.

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In 2016 a total of 26 captive elephants died in Kerala alone while in 2017 the numbers went up to 20. February 2018 has been the deadliest month so far for captive elephants. The one month saw six tuskers' untimely death.

Kunnamkulam Sivan (17), Chulliparambil Vinayakan (45), Vayalasseri Kesavan (50) Neyyattinkara Kannan (22) Kodumon Deepu (52) and Chandrika (32) all died last month.

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The average lifespan of an elephant is 70 years, so if one goes by that all the six elephants died last month were too young to die of natural causes.

In most cases, the villain is the same a medical condition called Erandakettu or ¡®eranda kettu¡¯ constipation. This disease gradually destroys the immunity of the elephant ¨C as it stops taking food leading to prolonged weakness and eventual death.

According to medics, Eranda Kettu in captive elephants are triggered by long hours of standing, with no exercise, unlike those in the wild, which travels kilometers everyday searching for food.

A file image of Kodumon Deepu

Another reason rights campaigners say is causing the deaths is the torture inflicted on the jumbos. Chained on four legs, the handlers use long pointed weapon called 'aana thotti' (hook) to keep the animal under control. The use of the hook often leaves injuries on the legs which then rubbed against the chain worsens the injury and if not attended on time may lead to infection and death.

An elephant hook

It should also be noted that majority of the captive elephants are male, that is because only tuskers can be paraded in temples. Most of the captive elephants in Kerala are privately owned and as often the case will the 'bachelor' throughout its life. This is because there is no enough captive females for them to mate.

An elephant in mast

Tuskers are known to become aggressive when they are in the state of musth. At this state their testosterone levels may peak to up to 60 times higher than usual. The tusker will also secrete a smelly liquid called temporin from the temporal ducts at this time. It is dangerous to take the animal out when it is in the state of musth. But due to the money involved, owners hide the the signs of musth and take the elephant to parades, often leading to the animal running wild, causing fatalities.

For animal rights campaigners the six deaths in February is an alarming sign. Many fear more such deaths in the coming months especially during in April during the Thrissur Pooram, arguably the biggest temple festival in Kerala. The annual festival sees over a hundred elephants decked up and paraded under the hot summer sun.

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Surrounded by a sea of humanity, the jumbos are bombarded with loud drumbeats and crackers for hours, taking the torture to an all new level.

Amid the growing criticism, in the recent years there have been some changes in the parading of elephants for the pooram like watering the road and the elephants regularly to cool them, providing food, water and rest at regular intervals etc. Medical check-up for the elephants have also become more vigilant in the recent years in the run up to the pooram.