It was just another day at work for Panacherry Abhimanyu, a captive elephant in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
Paraded for several days at a temple festival, the chained pachyderm was forced to endure earsplitting music and raucous crowds for hours under the hot sun, while submissively taking orders from his new mahout, or handler.
He decided enough was enough.
Abhimanyu charged at his mahout, Radhakrishnan, 33, throwing him off balance and impaling the man repeatedly with his tusk.
This year alone, there have been 78 incidents where elephants ran berserk and attacked people
V K Venkitachalam,
Heritage Animal Task Force
The elephant went on a rampage in the neighbourhood, thrashing trees and smashing compound walls before an elephant squad tamed it.
Two years after the accident, Radhakrishnan is still bedridden.
“I did not see it coming. My body is paralysed from the waist down. I cannot sit up, walk or even turn,” he told The National.
He has had seven operations to treat the wounds to his hips and fix a broken spine. Doctors have not told him whether he will ever walk again.
But Radhakrishnan does not blame the animal. “It is not easy for him. He did not have enough rest. He cannot see properly in the right eye and I think he panicked,” he said.
Ironically, Abhimanyu’s fate has not been any better than the mahout. The animal was recently found tethered to a tree.
It was allegedly being tortured, which prompted a division bench of the Kerala High Court to direct the forest department to move it to a rehabilitation centre.
Abhimanyu's case is just one of a series of incidents that have recently surfaced exposing the issue of abuse of captive elephants in the state.
Despite being a sacred animal, some people still view them as objects which can result in cases of animal abuse.
The elephants captured from the wild often endure cruelty and mistreatment at the hands of their owners and handlers.
Kerala has an estimated 518 elephants ― one of the highest numbers of captive elephants in any state in India. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Assam and Rajasthan follow suit, where elephants are mostly used in temples and for tourist rides.
Rare fixation with elephants
In a country where elephants are revered as gods, there is a deep religious and cultural affinity. The elephant god Ganesha is worshipped in the Hindu religion as a remover of all obstacles.
Elephants are an inevitable part of religious ceremonies and temple festivals in the state. Even churches and mosques use them in ceremonies. They are an attraction at weddings, processions and commercial events.
But Kerala’s fixation with the wild beasts is unmatched. For instance, Thechikottukavu Ramachandran, an elephant that killed 13 people, won a bidding war to be paraded at the Sree Vishwanatha Temple in Thrissur in February this year.
At Rs675,000 ($8,000), it was the highest sum yet paid for display rights for a captive elephant in Kerala.
“The king of kings is back. I have been waiting only for you,” one of his 120,000 fans posted on a Facebook page dedicated to the one — eyed elephant.
Sudheesh Kumar, an elephant lover, said he is a regular at the annual Thrissur Pooram, billed as the mother of all temple festivals, known for the extravagant display of caparisoned elephants and parasols.
“We do not think of the risks. We love elephants and that is all we care [about],” Mr Kumar told The National.
Rampant abuse
Between 1997 and 2022, elephants killed 1,376 people in Kerala, said V K Venkitachalam, an animal rights activist and secretary of the Heritage Animal Task Force in Thrissur.
“This year alone, there have been 78 incidents where elephants ran berserk and attacked people,” he told The National.
Mr Venkitachalam, who has been involved in a legal battle against elephant cruelty for 30 years, said the captive animals are abused and tortured.
Many have died in captivity resulting in a dwindling number of captive elephants in the state.
In 2018, 34 elephants died in Kerala while the death toll was 29 in 2021 and 20 in 2020.
Mr Venkitachalam said many elephants died as a result of ill treatment.
Wounds inflicted by people are one of the reasons for the death of captive elephants. Kerala Forest Department records show that 16 elephants with visible injuries were seized from private owners in the past decade and rehabilitated at the retirement home in Kottur.
Mr Venkitachalam has been documenting instances of elephant abuse and has filed more than 15,000 complaints to wildlife and other law-enforcement authorities, including the case of Abhimanyu.
His petitions to stop parading injured and violent elephants led to the state's high court enforcing stricter rules.
In 2003, Kerala passed a set of rules and regulations to prevent cruelty against elephants and these were amended in 2012.
It stipulates that elephants should not be used for more than six hours continuously and those showing any signs of illness, visible wounds or tiredness should not be displayed.
No chains, hobbles with spikes or barbs should be used to tie up the animals.
But Mr Venkitachalam and mahouts that The National interviewed said the rules are often flouted by the Kerala Elephant Owners Federation, an influential group.
Lucrative business
Elephants are a lucrative business in the state, which has about 2,800 temples.
An elephant fetches about Rs50,000 per day for a temple parade and celebrity elephants can get Rs300,000.
During the festival season, the demand for captive elephants goes up.
Manoj Ayyappan, who has been a mahout for more than 35 years, said elephants are used as commodities by owners.
“It is a money-making business. They are signing contracts to lease out elephants without any concern for the animal or the handlers,” Mr Ayyappan told The National.
“Sometimes, I had to handle my elephant for more than eight or 10 hours at a stretch. And people often misbehave with the elephants.”
He said elephants are also paraded during the musth period, when bull elephants are highly aggressive due to a rise in reproductive hormones.
“When it gets chaotic, we mahouts have to put our life on the line,” said Mr Ayyappam, who has been attacked by elephants several times.
KB Ganeshkumar, president of The Kerala Elephant Owners Federation and owner of two elephants, admits that cruelty to elephants does happen, but pins most of the responsibility on the handlers.
“Owners can't do much. Many mahouts have substance abuse problems and they treat the elephants quite brutally,” he told The National.
“No matter where I am, I do video calls with my elephants and speak to them often. They have to feel loved.”
Electronic alternative
With the alarming decline of the number of captive elephants in the state, Mr Venkatachalm said the practice of elephant parades in temples and festivals will not last another decade.
“We will not have any more elephants to parade. They are dying one by one, either of old age or of injuries,” he said.
About 70 per cent of captive elephants in Kerala are more than 50 years old. An average life expectancy for an elephant is 80 to 85 years.
Some temples think having an electronic elephant to replace the live ones could be the solution. Irinjadappilly Sree Krishna Temple in Thrissur district made history last month when it introduced a robotic elephant.
Irinjadappilly Raman, a 3.35m-tall and 800kg robotic elephant, made of rubber, metal, fibre and sponge, was an instant hit with devotees.
“We are extremely happy and grateful to receive this elephant, which will help us to conduct our rituals and festivals in a cruelty-free way, and we hope that other temples will also think about replacing live elephants for rituals,” the head priest of the temple, Rajkumar Namboothiri, said.
Peta India, which donated the electronic elephant, said it was a sure-shot solution to avoiding animal cruelty.
Khusboo Gupta, director of Advocacy Projects, Peta India, told The National that they have received inquiries from other temples, which is “a good sign”.
“Elephants must be revered. The best way to do this is by protecting them in forests where they belong,” she said.
A robotic elephant given by Peta to a Kerala temple — in pictures
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SERIES%209
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JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
Family reunited
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
The Specs
Engine 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp (542bhp in GTS model)
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000 (Dh549,000 for GTS)
The biog
Place of birth: Kalba
Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren
Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken
Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah
Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
Brief scores:
Scotland 371-5, 50 overs (C MacLeod 140 no, K Coetzer 58, G Munsey 55)
England 365 all out, 48.5 overs (J Bairstow 105, A Hales 52; M Watt 3-55)
Result: Scotland won by six runs
THE SPECS
Engine: 4.4-litre V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 523hp
Torque: 750Nm
Price: Dh469,000
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
Mane points for safe home colouring
- Natural and grey hair takes colour differently than chemically treated hair
- Taking hair from a dark to a light colour should involve a slow transition through warmer stages of colour
- When choosing a colour (especially a lighter tone), allow for a natural lift of warmth
- Most modern hair colours are technique-based, in that they require a confident hand and taught skills
- If you decide to be brave and go for it, seek professional advice and use a semi-permanent colour
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sucker%20Punch%20Productions%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sony%20Computer%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%202%20to%205%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%205%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
FIXTURES
Thursday
Dibba v Al Dhafra, Fujairah Stadium (5pm)
Al Wahda v Hatta, Al Nahyan Stadium (8pm)
Friday
Al Nasr v Ajman, Zabeel Stadium (5pm)
Al Jazria v Al Wasl, Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium (8pm)
Saturday
Emirates v Al Ain, Emirates Club Stadium (5pm)
Sharjah v Shabab Al Ahli Dubai, Sharjah Stadium (8pm)
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
Company%C2%A0profile
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Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
UAE%20FIXTURES
%3Cp%3EWednesday%2019%20April%20%E2%80%93%20UAE%20v%20Kuwait%3Cbr%3EFriday%2021%20April%20%E2%80%93%20UAE%20v%20Hong%20Kong%3Cbr%3ESunday%2023%20April%20%E2%80%93%20UAE%20v%20Singapore%3Cbr%3EWednesday%2026%20April%20%E2%80%93%20UAE%20v%20Bahrain%3Cbr%3ESaturday%2029%20April%20%E2%80%93%20Semi-finals%3Cbr%3ESunday%2030%20April%20%E2%80%93%20Third%20position%20match%3Cbr%3EMonday%201%20May%20%E2%80%93%20Final%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
Fund-raising tips for start-ups
Develop an innovative business concept
Have the ability to differentiate yourself from competitors
Put in place a business continuity plan after Covid-19
Prepare for the worst-case scenario (further lockdowns, long wait for a vaccine, etc.)
Have enough cash to stay afloat for the next 12 to 18 months
Be creative and innovative to reduce expenses
Be prepared to use Covid-19 as an opportunity for your business
* Tips from Jassim Al Marzooqi and Walid Hanna
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%C2%A0profile
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What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
Read more from Johann Chacko
The biog
Name: Ayisha Abdulrahman Gareb
Age: 57
From: Kalba
Occupation: Mukrema, though she washes bodies without charge
Favourite things to do: Visiting patients at the hospital and give them the support they need.
Role model: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood.
Company%20Profile
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if you go
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
More from Neighbourhood Watch
More on animal trafficking
Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books
