Sunday, March 30, 2014
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Sunday, March 23, 2014
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Thiruvambadi Shivasundar,
The first I ever heard of Thiruvambadi Shivasundar was from an elephant-welfare activist named V.K. Venkitachalam, who told me that he’s “the most brandy-addicted elephant in Kerala.” A few hours later, I found Shivasundar getting a bath in the front yard of a mansion owned by the businessman Sundar Menon. Like many wealthy Keralites, Menon made his fortune in the Gulf; he’s chairman of Sun Group International, a fuel supplier in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. (In the music video, which Menon commissioned, he’s the guy with a goatee who’s often seen leading Shivasundar by the tusk.) Shivasundar was born in the wild and captured as a calf, and in 2002 Menon bought him for 3 million rupees, or around $60,000 — a steal compared with today’s prices. Menon told me that earlier this year, a “not very good elephant” sold for 13 million rupees. “It’s not that good an investment — it’s a risk,” he said. “Some elephants are very dangerous.” But not Shivasundar. Unlike some of the star elephants I write about in my article, he has never killed a human being.
Elephants standing during Thrissur pooram festival in
Kerala state of south India.
Most of the Hindu temples in Kerala own elephants, the majority of which are donated by devotees. The famous Guruvayur temple has more than 60 captive elephants. The world's only Elephant Palace is constructed in Punnattur Kotta, 3 km from the Guruvayur temple, to house the temple's elephants. A famous elephant, named Guruvayur Kesavan, belonged to this temple.
Almost all of the local festivals in Kerala include at least one richly caparisoned elephant. Elephants carry the deity during annual festival processions and ceremonial circumnambulations in the Hindu temples. The temple elephants are decorated with gold plated caparisons ("nettipattam"), bells, andnecklaces. People mounted on the elephants hold tinselled silk parasols ("muttukuda") up high, swaying white tufts ("vencamaram") and peacock feather fans ("alavattam") to the rhythm of the orchestra.[2] Seventeen elephants are engaged for the daily ceremonial rounds to the accomplishment ofPancari Melam in Kudalmanikyam temple. The headgear of seven of these elephants is made of pure gold and rest of pure silver, which is unique to this temple.
Thechikottukavu Ramachandran (born 1964)
Thechikottukavu Ramachandran (born 1964) is an elephant
owned by Thrissur Thechikkottukavu Peramangalthu Devaswom, a temple in Kerala.
Ramachandran is the most valued elephant in the annual Kerala elephant procession.
He is also considered the second tallest elephant in Asia
Thursday, March 20, 2014
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Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Help! Baby elephant stuck
after falling down manhole
The baby elephant had to be helped out of the hole
His startled expression and pleading eyes say it all.
Left stranded in a rather undignified position, this poor baby elephant was in need of some urgent help after he managed to wedge himself in a manhole in Thailand.
After missing his footing and falling down the gaping manhole of a drainage ditch the poor animalwas left well and truly stuck.
The unfortunate accident took place while the elephant was out walking in the street with its owner in Rayong province, in the east of the country.
The baby had been taken out to work in the street by a mahout - the men who drive the elephants - but must not have been looking where he was going.
Rescuers spent three hours freeing the elephant, who was unharmed, by using a bulldozer to widen the hole.
While elephants are used to move large heavy objects in Thailand, many of the animals in Rayong province are trained to carry tourists on elephant treks through the jungle.
Mahouts also use elephants to beg on the streets of many large Thai cities and baby elephants, with their cute eyes and hairy heads, are among the most sought after.
Baby elephants are often taught tricks to appeal to tourists and, although it is illegal in many cities, work the streets with their owners from early in the morning to late at night.
Mahouts control the elephants using a small number of commands and a sharp hook, known as an angkus.
Last month a 14-year-old female elephant was electrocuted in Rayong when she accidentally brushed against a naked electrical cable.
Elephants killed when they are hit by a TRAIN
File photo
Elephants killed when they are hit by a
TRAIN speeding through the jungle
Elephants part of a herd crossing railroad tracks in eastern India
Passenger train hit herd - killing two adult females and one calf instantly
Another died later from its injuries
Four elephants have been killed after they became trapped on a railway line and were hit by a speeding train.
The elephants were part of a herd crossing the railroad tracks in eastern India when the express passenger train ploughed into them.
Two adult female elephants and one calf were killed at the scene while another died later from its injuries.
Railway spokesman Jayant Sharma said the accident site was outside the state's elephant corridor and there was no warning from the forest department about the movement of the elephants.
Dozens of elephants have died in recent years in such accidents as trains run through national parks and forests. Activists have called for trains to lower their speeds through such areas.
India's wild elephant population was recently estimated at about 26,000.
Passenger train hit herd - killing two adult females and one calf instantly
Another died later from its injuries
Four elephants have been killed after they became trapped on a railway line and were hit by a speeding train.
The elephants were part of a herd crossing the railroad tracks in eastern India when the express passenger train ploughed into them.
Two adult female elephants and one calf were killed at the scene while another died later from its injuries.
Railway spokesman Jayant Sharma said the accident site was outside the state's elephant corridor and there was no warning from the forest department about the movement of the elephants.
Dozens of elephants have died in recent years in such accidents as trains run through national parks and forests. Activists have called for trains to lower their speeds through such areas.
India's wild elephant population was recently estimated at about 26,000.
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