Malayalees’ love story with elephants is centuries old. No temple festivals are complete without a procession with an Elephant. And it is not just temples. Even churches and some mosque festivals have elephants that add glamour and pride to the festivities.
Not surprisingly the man-animal conflict and elephant revenge stories are as old as the love stories. Elephants are often made to stand for hours during festivals, are transported long distances either by walk or in trucks. And they retaliate at times causing harm to people and property.
The forest department in Kerala has now embarked on a new initiative that is expected to control the over-exploitation of elephants for commercial gains, reports Indian Express. Each elephant is tagged by a digital chip which is inserted under the skin and carries all the vital information about the elephant, including its health.
How does this prevent people from over exploiting? Although it restricts unauthorized movement from one town to another, I am not sure how does it ensure that elephants are treated well.
While searching for some images, I came across this website that is dedicated for elephant news, aggregating news from world over. Wow!