2018: 24 festival elephants have died, one was 20 years old, another only 17 and another one 26. He was in his musth, but was given a fake fitness certificate, transported to Utharathil Kaavu Temple near Thiruvazhiyod in Palakkad, and paraded!! Eleven died in 48 days. One of them was Sivasundar, the famous and great star of Kerala, the main elephant projected as the carrier of the main idol of Thiruvambady temple which is one of the prominent participant of the Thrissur Pooram. He stood at the center point of each of their parades.
In 2017, 20 elephants had died in total, more than half of them below 40 years of age while 26 had died in 2016.
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF THESE EARLY DEATHS?
-Erandakettu, ( a convenient excuse cited by doctors) a kind of indigestion caused by long hours of standing, with no exercise.
- The panayola,: malnutrition: one kind of leaves that is been fed to the elephants. In the wild they consume up to 100 different kind of leaves, grasses, fruit...
- Lack of exercise: Long hours standing in a soarching sun. In the wild they walk at least 10 km a day.
-Lack of enough water, rest, sleep.
-Too much stress during the temple festivals.
-The elephant owners don't know how their elephants are treated, supposed they really care?
- It takes too long before a qualified doctor arrivés at the scene, if at all. No proper medical car is been given;
-There is no clarity in the elephant ownership rules. No owner has been arrested when his elephant dies an unnatural death.
WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?
- There needs to be a massive change in the diet: Elephants should be given as many varieties of fodder as possible, a combination of grass, palm and corn leaves, as well as fruits and vegetables.
- Elephants also need to walk at least 10 kilometers everyday in order to exercise and balance their massive bodies. But where is the space? Kerala is three times more densely populated than any other state in India and the roads are congested.
Possible solution: to rehabilitate the captive elephants in a place like Kottoor, or create rescue centres where they can roam freely in their fading days,
- A revision of the existing regulations and rules: "The Kerala Captive Elephant Management and Maintenance Rules 2003 offers too many loopholes to escape any prosecution.
- Impliment real penalties: The social forestry Department should collaborate with law enforcement agencies to book the guilty.
Information shared from Sangita Iyer and Venkatachalam.
