2009-10-05 - Kollam, India. Ignatius Pereira
Just eight of the 695 captive elephants in the State turned up for the ‘Gajadinam’ (Elephant Day) celebrations organised by the Forest Department in five places on Sunday to mark Wildlife Week. The Kerala Elephant Owners’ Federation boycotted the celebrations in protest against the alleged failure of the Forest Department to implement important decisions taken at a meeting between its representatives and Forest Minister Benoy Viswom. The organisation also alleged harassment by the departme...
2009-09-19 - Kollam, India.
Almost two and a half years after he was born in captive at Puthenkulam near here, the elephant calf Sivan was weaned from his mother Lakshmi on Friday evening. Captive elephant management expert, B. Aravind who supervised the weaning process said that it was a mammoth task. Puthekulam Shaji who owns Lakshmi was not aware of the pregnancy when he purchased her from Bihar late in 2006. Sivan was born on April 2, 2007 and till Friday he was always besides his mother and her milk, his staple diet.
2008-02-15 - Kollam, India.
The Elephant Lovers Association (ELA), Thrissur, has urged the Forest Department to seize the three elephants now under the custody of former Minister R Balakrishna Pillai and his son and MLA K B Ganesh Kuamar. Association secretary V K Venkitachalam said in a statement that Balakrishna Pillai and Ganesh Kumar had no relevant documents to claim custody of the elephants. The Association had received a reply from the Divisional Forest Office, Punalur, that Balakrishna Pillai has two elephants and ...
2007-11-28 - KOLLAM, India.
Health cards issued by the Animal Husbandry Department have become mandatory for elephants to participate in temple rituals and gaja melas. At a camp organised at Kottiyam on Tuesday, 35 tuskers were issued the health card. The camp was organised by the department in association with the Forest Department, the Kerala Elephant Owners Federation, and the Kollam unit of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). Senior veterinary surgeon of the AHD B. Aravind said that the tuskers wer...
2007-04-02 - Kollam, India.
The birth of a baby elephant in Kollam district of Kerala is creating waves. Kerala has about 800 captive elephants but new arrivals among elephants are few and far between. Less than 24 hours after its birth, the baby elephant has become the cynosure of all eyes. Mother Lakshmi however is possessive about her little one. So, barring the owner, Shaji, no one else is allowed to go anywhere near the baby. Shaji, whose family owns 17 elephants, is elated over the new member in his elephant yard.
2007-04-01 - KOLLAM, India.
An elephant on Saturday killed its second mahout at Sasthamcotta while it was engaged in removing timber. Podimon, 35, of Modioozhathil, Kidangannoor, Vallana, Aranmula, is the deceased. The incident took place on Saturday afternoon when the tusker was brought to remove timber for a private person near the Muthupilakkad Parthasaradhi temple near Sasthancotta.
2006-10-02 - KOLLAM, India.
The programme of implanting electronic identity cards in the form of microchips on captive elephants was inaugurated here on Monday by Kerala Forests Minister Binoy Viswam at the start of the Wildlife Week celebrations in the state. About 800 captive elephants would get the device under the programme. The chip will be implanted through a minor procedure by a veterinary surgeon, the sources said.
2005-04-15 - Kollam, India. Ignatius Pereira
The 64-year-old tusker was adjudged the most handsome among domesticated elephants in the State last year. If elephants are animals with good memory, the celebrated tusker Gajaratnam Guruvayur Padmanabhan will never forget his maiden visit to Kollam on Wednesday. The warm receptions accorded to the mammoth dignitary right through the 25 km journey from Karunagapally to the Asramam Sri Krishna Swamy Temple in Kollam were rousing enough much to the envy of at least some human celebrities. ...
2003-02-07 - KOLLAM, Kerala, India. Ignatius Pereira
The basic truth about elephants is that they can never be fully domesticated. The domesticated elephants always nurse a tendency to return to the wild and never return. Thus, they are wild though they appear tamed by obeying certain commands, according to Jacob V. Cheeran, a retired veterinary Professor,
2025-03-27 - Chiang Mai, Thailand.
In a united effort to prevent forest fires, a team of three elephants joined over 20 locals in constructing firebreaks in Chiang Mai’s Mae Taeng district on Wednesday. The initiative, led by Phra Kh...
2025-03-27 - Cholamunda, India.
A Wild tusker, known as Kasera Komban, was found dead in abandoned septic tank in Kerala Malappuram. The tusker used to be affectionately called "Kasera Komban" due to its remarkably long tusks, which...
2025-03-18 - Wichita, United States.
The Sedgwick County Zoo announced Monday that 29-year-old African elephant Simunye delivered a stillborn calf following a healthy, full-term pregnancy. This would have marked the first elephant born a...
2025-03-08 - Guwahati, India.
A female elephant calf took birth in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park. The newborn, named Gauri, is the offspring of an elephant named Phulmai, who resides within the protected area of Kaziranga.
2025-03-05 - Trichy, India.
A 60-year-old female elephant named Jaini, who was being cared for at the MR Palayam Government Elephant Rehabilitation Centre in Reserve Forest under the Trichy Forest Division, has passed away. The ...
2025-02-07 - Amboseli, Kenya.
We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Paolo, one of Amboseli’s most famous and cherished elephants. At 46 years old, Paolo’s death marks the loss of a true giant, not only in size but ...