In the SW Indian state of Kerala, elephants are being widely used in the periodic temple festivities, rituals and other social functions, besides the lumber industries. You may be tempted to say that there is no Hindu temple in Kerala that is not associated with elephants. Hence these huge animals are respected and revered. Some famous elephants do have huge fans.
Located in the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala Konni on the bank of river Achakovil, is considered one among the important elephant training center's in in the state. Konni has been famous for the elephant training center since ancient times. The elephants captured from the dense forests of the western ghats/Sahyadri and are brought to the elephant training cage at Konni. Elephant training being a curious curious learning activity, lots of visitors come to this place throughout the year. Locally called Aanakoodu, giant elephants are housed in in sturdy cages made of thick wooden logs. These can house up to 3 to 4 elephants at a time.
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| Konni elephant training center, Kerala. keralatourism.org |
Above image: Town Konni, a nice hill station surrounded by a picturesque lavish green meadows and rolling hills is about 10 km from Pathanamthitta town. Visitors get to understand the behavior of elephants and how receptive they are to the traditional training being given here. There is an elephant museum (opened in February 2021) which carries lots of information on matters related to elephants and highlights the bond between humans and pachyderms....................
The museum covers the life and evolution of elephants and different stages of captive elephant management, obviously, the first of its kind in the country. There are huge-scale murals of elephants near the entrance plus touch screen kiosks and information panels. from them we learn about human-elephant relationships and the impact elephants on the life of Kerala .The state' culture has close links with the elephants. The museum also covers elephant habitats and their shrinkage resulting in their raids in the fringe areas of the forest. Plans are afoot to have a 3D theater various subjects related to elephants.
An unseal fact about this place is the authorities do not let the elephant dung go to waste. Here they recycle them them an convert into paper. Here, they also sell unadulterated pure honey and sandalwood. The place is surrounded by clove and pepper plantations. Elephants trapped from the forest area are also tamed here. Konni surrounded by lush green wooded areas provide an eco-tourism hub of Pathanamthitta district, where the project on elephant trading and their rejuvenation from health point of view form its nerve center. Also included in the project are the elephant kraal (shelter), a photo gallery, modern elephant shelters, an elephant museum, shops to sell forest produce, a children’s park, a biogas plant and a paper-making unit. The Adavi Eco-tourism project jointly launched by the departments of Forest and Tourism is part of the third phase of Konni Eco tourism project and is just five km from Mundommoozhy on the proposed Achencovil-Chittar hill highway..
The elephant trainers pay main attention to baby elephants that are either separated from their herd or been found injured. The experience trainers use age old techniques that have been passed down through generations to deal with elephants of different temperament. The elephants that are taught to obey specific commands from the trainers are taken for special exercise walks in the morning and are given baths and specific diets as part of trading program. At Konni, baby elephants are quite playful and children enjoy them very much. As for big elephants, they are being used to take the visitors including children for rides around the place
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| Konni elephant training center, Kerala en.wikipedia.org |
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| Aanakoodu or Elephant cage at Konni facebook.com |
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| Near hill town Konni. pathanamthitta.nic.in |
Tit-Bits:
The Elephant Camp in Punnathur Kotta, Guruvayur, Kerala:
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| Punnathur kota, Kerala, elephant camp flicker.com |
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| .Punnathur kota, Kerala, elephant camp agefotostock.com |
Above images: The Elephant Camp located in Punnathur Kotta, at a distance of 3 km from the popular Guruvayur Temple dedicated to lord Sree Krishna is equally famous. Here, the Elephant Camp houses 58 elephants on a plot covering 11.5 acres of land and is home to the largest number of captive elephants. Invariably they are all offerings made by devotees to the Guruvayur temple.
Previously owned by the Punnathur Kings, the temple purchased it in 1975. The Elephant Camp is also a training place for the elephants where they learn how to participate in daily temple rituals and temple processions. Guruvayur temple is famous for yearly elephant race and the winner gets to chance to carry the idol of Lord Guruvayur during the Shiveli procession. To treat ailments in the pachyderms, the trainers use old traditional methods here also visitors got a chance to see elephant training and even offer food under the supervision of the mahouts.
https://www.keralatourism.org/destination/konni-elephant-training-centre/362
https://www.keralatourism.holiday/best-places/guruvayur/elephant-camp.php
https://pathanamthitta.nic.in/en/tourist-place/konni-and-adavi/
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