India holds about 60% of the total Asian elephants of the world. Of these, the largest populations are found in south India. Of these, some are domesticated to be used in temple festivals. The other domesticated elephants work as tourist elephants, to transport timber, by forest department rangers, and in circus.
The presence of an elephant adds a certain beauty and prestige to the event and attracts crowds. I have always enjoyed seeing the elephants in temples, feeding them and receiving blessings. They are such beautiful animals. I fail to understand why there is no yoga pose named after an elephant. They simply deserve an asana as they breathe so efficiently and that is why they live so long. They stand or walk through out the day as it is quite difficult to get back on their feet when they sit down. So, these animals can stand and sleep. The tusks are essentially the canines grown way too long.
Most of the domesticated elephants are with private individuals and the rest are with forest agencies and others. Although there are various wildlife protection acts and regulations for keeping animals in captivity, there are many difficulties in taking care of these animals. Recently, I got to know of a group in Palakkad, Kerala, that was raising funds to take care of the old abandoned elephants. This group is called Elephant Welfare Trust of India, EWTI. As of now, they don’t have a website.
I had gone to Palakkad a few weeks back, to see these animals and go for a ride on them as part of the fund raising event. There were about fifteen elephants that day. They all had names and my elephant was named Raja Shekaran. It was quite amazing to be above all the buses and the vehicles. The view from the top of the elephant is so different, being so close to the branches of the huge trees. Everyone on the streets were so cheerful and friendly as soon as they saw all these elephants.
I heard from the EWTI, that there is a lack of skilled mahouts as this profession is not attractive. So, people who fail to have other employment are being engaged to take care of these animals. These mahouts are changed frequently and they do not have any emotional relationships with these animals, which lead to a lot of stress for the elephants. Accidents and diseases due to the urbanization of elephants is becoming common. It is very difficult to take care of incapacitated or aged animals.
Majority of the captive elephants have passed their prime, some are above 50 or 60 years old, which is the afternoon or dusk of their lives. To keep these animals when they cannot work is going to be a liability to the owners. EWTI thinks that there may be stray elephants soon wandering in search of food and shelter as they could be abandoned by their helpless or irresponsible owners. The goverment will not be able to take care of these animals either.
The EWTI is a group of veterenarians, elephant owners and animal lovers. They raise funds for the welfare of the elephants, mahouts and other related people. This group is taking up various projects on a phased manner. Here are a few that I found on their pamphlet.
* set up an elephant rehabilitation center
* set up a quarantine center
* reduce human elephant conflicts
* establish an elephant cemetery
* to come up with a scheme for effective musth managemnt among captive elephants
* schemes for welfare of the mahouts, so more efficient people will choose this profession
If you would like to help them out, please send a donation to-
Elephant Welfare Trust of India,
Vadakkanthara Road, Big Bazaar, Palakkad – 678 014
Kerala, India
Phone 91-491-2500730
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