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Elephants play an important role in India’s ritual culture, and for decades these mighty creatures have been decorated and saddled as part of traditional rituals performed in and around the many temples that dot the landscape.

Authorities at the Irinjadappilly Sree Krishna Temple in Thrissur district have now introduced a mechanical elephant to allow the festivities to be conducted in a ‘cruelty-free’ environment.

For years, animal welfare activists have flagged concerns about their treatment. The Centre for Research on Animal Rights last week wrote to the state’s chief minister about the increased mortality of the mammal, saying 138 captive elephants had died in Kerala between 2018 and 2023.

In partnership with PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals), the mechanical Dumbo was gifted to the temple by Indian actress Parvathy Thiruvothu. The 3.3m tall elephant weighs 800 kg and is made of an iron frame.

“It’s high time we made stronger and more impactful strides towards stopping such abuse and letting animals have respectful and dignified lives.”

PETA has urged other temples in the animal-worshipping country to follow suit and get their own heavy metal elephants. According to the BBC, Temple priest Rajkumar Namboothiri has welcomed the replacement and the potential it has to protect the indigenous elephant populations.

The elephant’s head, eyes, mouth, ears and tail all work on electricity and it can carry up to 4 people.

There have been numerous incidents of elephants lashing out during these rituals as the throngs of people, celebrations and noise make them frustrated or scared. According to the Heritage Animal Task Force, captive elephants have been responsible for 526 deaths in the last 15 years.

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One of India’s most loved ritual elephants, Ramachandran, has killed 13 people in its 59 years. At 3.2 metres, it is the tallest elephant in India and is fondly known among elephant lovers as Raman. Ramachandran is blind in one eye and over the past 18 years pushed open the entrance of the Vadakkunnathan Temple in Thrissur every day for the Pooram festival. Rama has however now taken retirement and will no longer be used for festivals.

With the recent explosion of AI and robotics, it seems like a logical idea to replace these often-abused creatures with mechanical beasts. It is after all similar to many Western countries that have mechanical bulls in their places of ‘spirits’ worship.

[sources:bbc&indiatoday]