A society of elephantine proportions

In a novel initiative, the elephant owners and mahouts in Kerala have joined hands by forming a cooperative society to handle various issues related to their trade and healthcare of the elephants. The conclave called Gajasangamom 2006 (Elephant Meet), which besides the launch had medical check ups for the pachyderms and its keepers.

Over 110 elephants turned up for the launch of the cooperative society, which marked the beginning of a new chapter devoted to issues concerning elephant owners and healthcare of mahouts.

The organisers--Society of Elephant Owners, the city's Municipal Corporation and the District Tourism Promotion Council--distributed safety gears made of fluorescent material, which would reduce accidents on roads while transporting animals from one place to another.

In Kerala, elephants are vital to the local cultural milieu and are often paraded at religious ceremonies.

"No matter which religion we talk about in Kerala, the participation of elephants is always important. At least five to 25 elephants can be seen in a ceremony. Elephants have always been an integral part of the cultural heritage of Kerala," said T. S. Rajeev, convener of the new forum.

Meanwhile, all the elephants and mahouts attending the camp were given free insurance cover.

"It is very good news for us that we will get medical check ups and insurance cover for a year at a time," said E. Rajan, a mahout and elephant owner.

Besides the cooperative will also run a small savings bank for the mahouts. This will help them to take better care of the elephants even when they are in dire straits.

Historically, elephants have been they have been used in battle, hunting, religious and ceremonial occasions, and to manage other elephants.

But today elephants are an endangered species. Less than 30,000 elephants have been noticed roaming around the expanse, which once had a many a times larger population.

It is believed that rapid urbanisation; deforestation and brutal domestication are taking a heavy toll of the elephants. The destruction of males for the tusks, so vital for the continuity of the species, has sounded the alarm bells among conservationists.

The captive elephants seem to have it better than the wild ones as Wildlife society reports say that 375 wild elephants were poached in India from 1998 to 2004 and two tons of ivory seized.

Bureau Report