PETA India Donates Life – Size Mechanical Elephant Kalidasan to Sri Choodikkal Bhadrakali Temple, Kerala.
PETA India donated a life-size mechanical elephant Kalidasan to Sri Choodikkal Bhadrakali Temple in Kerala.
Chairman-cum-Managing Director of UDS Hotels, Shri Chenkal. S. Rajasekharan Nair unveiled Kalidasan, who will be used to conduct ceremonies at the temple in a safe and cruelty-free manner, helping real elephants stay with their families in the jungle.
The initiative was facilitated by PETA India in recognition of the temple’s compassionate decision to never own or hire live elephants. This new mechanical elephant, Kalidasan, is the 12th mechanical elephant donation in Kerala. With this addition, PETA India has now donated 22 robotic elephants across the country.
View this post on Instagram
“ For us, welcoming Kalidasan is a privilege. We have always wanted to honour our traditions, but also ensure that no living being suffers in the process. With Kalidasan, we can continue our rituals with the same devotion, while ensuring that both elephants and humans are safe.”
– Chairman-cum-Managing Director of UDS Hotels, Shri Chenkal. S. Rajasekharan Nair
Elephants are intelligent, active, and gregarious wild animals. In captivity, they are trained to be used in processions through beatings, the use of weapons and force. Most elephants held captive in temples and other places suffer from excruciating foot problems and leg wounds due to chaining to concrete for hours on end. Most are denied adequate food, water, veterinary care, and any semblance of a natural life. Under these hellish conditions, many elephants become intensely frustrated and lash out, often killing mahouts or other humans or animals.
Mechanical elephants are 3-meters tall and weigh 500 kilograms. They are made with rubber, fibre, metal, mesh, foam, and steel and run on five motors. A mechanical elephant looks, feels, and can be used like a real elephant. It can shake its head, move its ears and eyes, swish its tail, lift its trunk, and even spray water. They can be climbed upon, and a seat can be affixed on the back. They can be operated simply by plugging and playing with electricity. They can be taken through the streets and are mounted on a wheelbase, allowing them to be moved and pushed around for rituals and processions.
