Majestic jumbos of Kerala

Shankarankulangara Manikandan

Kongadu Kuttishankaran

Mangalamkunnu Vijayan

Mundackal Devanarayanan

Ezhunnallippu

Elephant march during the 'parayeduppu' of poonithura kottaram temple, thripunithura.
Panchavadyam means Orchestra which consists of five instruments. idakka,kombu,maddalam,thilmila and ilathalam are the five instruments used in Panchavadyam.
Panchavadyam shots from Gandhi square in Kochi

Caparisoned elephant shots with kolam on the top.
'Thidambu' of the chief diety of Poonithura Kottaram temple, Pettah
Elephant march in a temple at Kochi accompanied by Panchavadyam.
Elephant with Muthukkuda, nettippattom, venchamaram and aalavattom.

Para ezhunnallippu of Poonithura Kottaram temple on Ashtamirohini. Caparisoned elephants accompanied by panchavadyam. Poonithura temple has strong relation with poornathrayeesha temple. According to legends, it is the place where Arjuna and the brahmin descended in santhana gopala story. Here Arjuna took the idol from 'pooni' , brought from vaikunda. Thus the name poonithura came. Muthukulangara temple at Eroor also has connections with the Poornathrayeesha temple.

A shelter for Retired elephants

Kerala Forest Department took an inspiring decision to look after the old elephants of Kerala. The rehabilitation centre is a unique centre in the country itself. The proposed centre is at Kottur near Thiruvananthapuram. Kerala has the privilege of having the maximum number of captive elephants in the country 900! But the most of the owners exploit them in their youth and they will be rejected in their old age. The centre incorporates the facilities for the fodder and there will be a veterinary clinic for these pachyderms.
External link

For more about elephants....http://www.elephant-kerala.com/

'Gajakesarikal' a book about the majestic elephants of Kerala in Malayalam by Mr.K.P.Raju an ardent lover of elephants. To know more about the book:phone-0481-2411733

Bellari-human elephant conflict

A shot of Bellari-vast and green clultivation areas
Elephants always invade into the cultivation areas of Bellari causing a human elephant conflict. Forest officials and anti poaching staff will try to chase them back into the forests by beating drums and bursting fire crackers.

For more about elephants....http://www.elephant-kerala.com/
'Gajakesarikal' a book about the majestic elephants of Kerala in Malayalam by Mr.K.P.Raju an ardent lover of elephants. To know more about the book:phone-0481-2411733

Elephant cam

Elephant cam captured images of Tiger(Courtsey:BBC)

Elephants can store upto 8 Litres of water in the trunk. They use the trunk as an instrument.

This trunk consists of more than 40,000 muscles!!!

BBC had made a film about Tigers. They had fixed cameras on trained elephant trunks !!!!

More pictures and details


For more about elephants....http://www.elephant-kerala.com/
'Gajakesarikal' a book about the majestic elephants of Kerala in Malayalam by Mr.K.P.Raju an ardent lover of elephants. To know more about the book:phone-0481-2411733

Gajapooja

"Gajananam Bhoothaganadhi sevitham Kapithajam bhubhalasarabhakshitham
Umasutham Shokavinashakaranam Namami Vigneswara padapankajam"
Gajapooja is worshipping of elephants. According to Puranas elephants are considered as incarnation of Mahaganapathy, the god who diminishes all obstacles. Vinayaka Chathurthy is an auspicious occasion for Ganapathy Temple. At Malliyoor Temple every year 'Gajapooja' and 'Aanayoottu' are observed as part of the Vinayaka Chathurthi rituals. Caparisoned jumbos are considered as the most eminent guests of the day. The feast of these pachyderms is a great pleasure to the devotees of the temple too. Bhagavatha Hamsam Malliyoor Namboothiri the great guru and the great devotee of Sri Guruvayurappa is conducting various events in the temple which attracts a lot of devotees from various places. It is the only temple, the diety is Sri krishna in the lap of Sri Mahaganapathy.

For more about elephants....http://www.elephant-kerala.com/
'Gajakesarikal' a book about the majestic elephants of Kerala in Malayalam by Mr.K.P.Raju an ardent lover of elephants. To know more about the book:phone-0481-2411733

Konni Elephant Kraal

Konni elephant camp(courtsey:Konniecotourism.org)

Twins from Konni Elephant Kraal

Konni, elephant training centre is in Pathanamthitta District, about 10Kms from the Pathanamthitta town.
The elephant Kraal is a wooden cage used for training baby elephants. Baby elephants are groomed by the trained mahouts (chattam padippikkal-teaching the rules of a tamed elephant). This domestication is done systematically and according to the rules. This elephant Kraal had a history of 100 years. It is located in an area of 10 Acres.

Kerala Elephants

Luxurious bath-Shot from Kuttanadu

In Hindu culture Elephants have a relevant position. According to Hindus elephant is incarnation of Ganapathy 'the elephant headed god'. Our epics have a lot of stories about this wonderful animal. These animals make our festivities more colorful and attractive in such a way elephants have become an integral part of our life. Elephant is a wild animal and not a pet. We may love this animal but don't rely them. The relation between the human and elephant had started prehistorically. Elephants are considered as a symbol of the wealth of the family. Nowadays people became more craze about these animals.Elephant is earth's largest land animal. The huge size of the body and the slow movements make these pachyderms more magnificent but beyond this external appearance elephant is a sensitive animals with feelings like we do. The word elephant arises a nostalgic feeling of imagination and childish curiosity in us. Many people who became enthralled by the presence of the majestic view of this huge animal are not aware of the trauma they undergo under captivity. we have to know a lot about this animal which makes them more attractive and more lovable.

Kolambi poo Yellow beauties Poovarasu Kadalavanakku

Guruvayoor Padmanabhan

He fires the enthusiasm among the elephant lovers by the elegant beauty and the majestic look. The most popular elephant of Kerala owned by Guruvayoor Devaswom. He has the privilege to carry the 'golden thidambu' of Lord Guruvayoorappa during 'Ekadasi Vilakku'and 'Arattu Ezhunnallippu' since 1962. People had a strong belief that he had the blessings of Lord Guruvayoorappa. He has been considered as the rebirth of 'Eiravatha' the elephant of King Indra. So his presence attracts the elephant lovers and devotees. He has all the auspicious signs of the elephant explained in 'Mathangaleela' -a book about the elephants. He is also known for the calm and obedient behavior and has never run amok during a festival.
In all festivities and processions he will carry the 'thidambu' the idol of the god and thus he will be the key attraction of the people. He is a valuable star among the elephants of Guruvayoor elephant sanctuary. He holds the record of for bagging the highest fee ('ekkam') of Rs.2,22,222/- for participating one day procession at Nenmara-Vallangi Vela in April 2004.

Happy Birthday to Sivan

The youngest elephant of Kerala have the luck to celebrate his birthday among a group of elephant lovers of Kerala. Sivan belong to Puthenkulam Shaji is a star in Puthenkulam village and his presence attracts a lot of tourists and natives to Puthen kulam. Shaji bought his mother from Sonpur Elephant fair in Bihar. She became pregnant after sometime. He arranged all facilities for a smooth delivery.
Now SPCA authorities and elephant lovers of Kerala are arranging a large scale celebration of his birthday on April 2nd. Wishing all the best from elephant-kerala.com.

More about the birthday celebrations and a shot of Shivan with his mother from External link

Guruvayoor Keshavan

Guruvayoor Keshavan and Narayani
The most legendary elephant of Kerala. He may be the first elephant who got such a wonderful fame through the devotion to the almighty. A film was also there to recollect him. His death anniversary is conducted every year by Guruvayoor Devaswom. All members of Punnathur Aanakkotta will gathers around his statue and garlands as a salute to their great ancestor.
The statue of Guruvayoor Keshavan

Puthenkulam-the elephant village in Kerala

Puthenkulam village is in Bhoothakkulam Panchayath in Kollam District. The village has the credit of having the largest number of captive elephants in Kerala. The village has more than 40 elephants. Puthenkulam Ananthapadmanabhan is the hero of elephant lovers of Kerala belongs to Puthenkulam Shaji. He had 9 elephants(6 male) including male baby elephant Shivan. The village has a lot of water resources and rich in coconut trees also. Thus it became the ideal village for elephants. Shaji's family started the elephant business in Puthenkulam. Once they had 23 elephants!!!After the festival season he gives rest to elephants. During this time he uses them for elephant-tourism. Many foreigners are interested to feed and bath an elephant. They are very curious to spend a day with this animal. Shaji is also on his way to a tourist facilitation centre at Puthenkulam.
Puthenkulam Ananthapadmanabhan the tallest elephant of South Kerala(10 feet 2''). Other majestic elephants are Puthenkulam Arjunan and Puthenkulam Mahadevan. 7 months old Shivan is the key attraction.
Every year more than 10,000 tourists are coming to this village. Here we can spend a day with an elephant. Facilities for elephant riding and trekking are also available.
Former Chief minister of Jayalalitha is a fan of Shaji. Actors Jayaram, Ganesh kumar and Babu Namboothiri are also regular visitors to this elephant village.

Elephants of Shaji Puthenkulam
For more tourism facilities and resorts at Paravur

Veerappan-the elephant poacher

Veerappan the Robinhood of India had poached more than 2000 elephants. He had collected more than 88,000pounds of ivory worth 2.6 milli0n!!!!

Elephant safari

Riding on an elephant top. The most exciting and amazing attempt..This ride is used in wild areas where vehicles can not reach. This is mainly used in sanctuaries where the tourist can watch and take shots of the nature without any harm to the surroundings. More

Elephant ride from Thekkady to Kumarakom

They may be the first couples travelling more than 130kilometers on the top of an elephant. Berner and Herta from Germany have a great craze for these pachyderms. They have great desire to climb to the top of an elephant and they are giving thanks to their friend who is running a travel agency at Germany. He had arranged their trip from Thekkady to Kumarakom. The elephant was Ushasree Shankarn kutty owned by Raveendran of Ettumanoor. More

Elephants dead-hitting the train

Three elephants including a pregnant female were dead hitting a passenger train when they were trying to cross the railway line between Pothannur and Madhukkari station near Coimbathore. The pregnant female delivered during the impact but the baby also died at the spot. Two compartments of the train derailed but the 7 people inside the train escaped without any injury. The scene was a heartbreaking one, scattered carcass and the small cute baby elephant. The forest officials were chasing the elephants wandering in the outskirts of the city. Last night they used crackers to turn them away from the residential area.

Massage therapy for elephants of Kerala

Alke Riesterer, who is a certified massage therapist from US is doing her therapy on elephants which is beneficial to relieve stress and good health. She came to Kerala as part of her research on elephants. She had done massage to the elephant Shenoy Chandrashekharan at Kundannor. Wild Trust of India and Elephant care Association of Kochi assisted her in this program. She starts her massage from the legs and touches all parts of the elephant body. During massage the elephant showed signs of relief and positively co-operated with her for this one hour long therapy.More
Jack fruit photos vegetable garden Kuttanadu paddy fields

Elephant camps in Kerala

Picture courtsey:www.awf.org

There are 7 elephant camps in Kerala. These are run by the Forest Department of Kerala Govt.
Konni-Pathanamthitta District
Kodanad-ErnakulamDistrict
Muthanga -Wayanad District
Nilambur-Wayanad District

Nedumkayam elephant camp which is in Malappuram District, situated 18km away from Nilambur town. This camp is in the Nilambur reserve forest area. Nilambur is 40Km away from Malappuram.
Tholpetti -
Arymkavu-Pathanamthitta District
Thekkady-Kottayam District

Elephant as a friend

Consider this animal as a friend. Says Dr. T P Sethumadhavan in his 'Anaye Ariyan'. This is the ultimate solution to stop human elephant conflict. Kerala has more than 700 captive elephants. Mostly they are used for the festival seasons. Over work, improper feeding and negligence in musth management creates more stress among elephants and this results into the death of humans. In this book he also suggests that an awareness program among the people and children may help to reduce the cruelty towards this wild beast. In this book he also explains about the Pinnawalla elephant orphanage in Srilanka, Millennium foundation in Srilanka and Mahout Village of Thailand. More

Kanthari images Nanthiar Vattom flowers

Kudam puli Kariveppu

Dr.K.C.Panicker-an elephant expert from Kerala

Dr.K.Chandrashekhara Panicker mostly known as 'Anapanicker' is working for the conservation of elephants for 45 years and currently the Secretary of the Elephant Protection Society, Thrissur. He had done a lot of research in the field of the common ailments and treatments of elephants. He is the first one who scientifically classified the treatments of the elephants and these researches captured the attraction of the world. He was working as a Professor and the Dept. Head of the Parasitological Dept. of Kerala Agricultural University veterinary college, Mannuthy and he is an elephant disease expert in Kerala. He had tranquilized 500 musth elephants. In this world record he got commentable help from his colleagues Dr.Radhakrishna Kaimal and Dr. Jacob V Cheeran. He is the author of the book 'Aana Kathayum Karyavum' the book is a reference book for elephants in Malayalam. Now he is working to build awareness among common man to stop cruelty towards this huge creature and he has also plans to raise funds to build a crematorium for elephants. He hopes that more youngsters will come into the field of elephant research.
More on elephants...

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