As you’ll discover during New! Soul of India: The Colorful South, Kerala’s vibrant temple culture endures—but protests from animal rights groups has prompted one tradition to adapt.
Question: Many live elephants used during festivals in the Indian state of Kerala are finding themselves out of job. What are they being replaced by?
Answer: Robots
Asian elephants have played a significant role in Indian culture for centuries. Considered by Hindus as a living incarnation of Ganesha, the elephant-headed god, the ceremonial elephants in the Indian state of Kerala are especially beloved by the local population. But they won’t be seeing too many bejeweled elephants parading down crowded village streets during religious festivals for much longer—live ones, anyway. Because the very real pachyderms are being replaced by … robotic elephants.
It's reasonable to assume this is just a result of keeping pace with an evolving workforce, but modern technology has nothing to do with the "elephant upgrade" currently unfolding in Kerala. Concern for the elephants’ welfare is the reason for the switch.
For decades, animal rights activists have called for ending the custom of keeping temple elephants. The problem with the practice, they say, is that captive elephants suffer severe emotional and physical distress. After being torn from their herd, most are kept alone in a temple, chained to the floor most of the day. The elephants are then subjected to inhumane training methods including "bull hooks," starvation, and beatings to learn the religious rituals they are expected to perform.
If that isn’t reason enough to call for an end to this cruel practice, public safety is doing the trick. Safety concerns—for both the elephants and the devotees—is convincing more and more people to seek an alternative to using "live" elephants during religious festivals. Exposure to large crowds, loud noises, and flashing lights is putting increasing stress on the already stressed-out ceremonial elephants—and if a firecracker goes off too close, watch out. Between 2007 and 2024, some 540 people have been killed and many more have suffered serious injuries as a result of "spooked" elephants running amok during temple processions in Kerala.
Kerala’s elephants are a long way from the herd
There are fewer than 40,000 Asian elephants remaining in the wild, and about 15,000 Asian elephants living in captivity across Asia—many exploited by the logging and tourist industries. The majority of the 2,700 captive Asian elephants in India are in Kerala. How do so many of them end up there? While elephant populations throughout the world are dwindling, Asian elephants in particular are the most endangered. Yet it’s relatively easy to skirt the law and acquire wild elephants within India’s borders. Most of Kerala’s elephants were captured as young bulls in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, two of India’s northern states, and then they are simply transported to southern India.
What is ironic about the practice is that India has a lengthy history of working to protect wild elephants and preserve their habitats—far longer than any other Asian nation. Yet for some reason, extending these same protections to Kerala’s temple elephants in captivity has proven to be a task of elephantine proportions—until now …
Robots to the rescue
Initiated about a decade ago, the initial aim of the project was to create lifelike, autonomous robotic elephants that could mimic the appearance and movements of real elephants. Then, once live elephants were replaced with robotic counterparts in cultural festivals across Asia, the elephants would be rehabilitated in sanctuaries and get to live out the rest of their lives peacefully. Knowing that the use of "live" elephants is such a deeply ingrained cultural belief, no one thought the switchover would happen overnight. But the response to the initial "robots" rolled out in 2023 has been overwhelmingly positive.
And why not? These uncannily realistic, AI-based robotic elephants can flap their ears, move their eyes, swish their tails, and even spray water from their trunk to soak the crowd! Constructed from fiberglass and rubber that is mounted on a metal frame, they cost about $6,000 to build (and a lot more for the initial development). PETA, Voices for Asian Elephants, and other animal rights organizations have been donating robotic elephants to several temples in Kerala—on the condition that the live elephants are moved to approved sanctuaries.
Many of the reactions to the first appearance of "Raman," a 12-foot-tall robotic elephant waving its trunk, have been similar. A Kerala sweet shop owner said he couldn’t believe that he was looking at a robot. "He had garlands around his neck, all the bells and decorations—it was like any real temple elephant we’re used to seeing." And what about the toughest audience—local children? "The kids are reacting in the same way they would seeing a real elephant," he said. "They are overjoyed and taking photos with him." And the crowds feel much safer, too.
More fascinating facts about the elephants—real and robotic—of Kerala
- Did you just roll your eyes at me?—Robotic elephants tip the scales at close to 1,800 pounds (real ones are closer to 8,000 pounds). An electric current controlled by a switch allows the robotic versions to move their head, eyes, trunk, ears, and tail—but they can’t move their legs.
- Easy, big fella—While participating in festivals in Kerala, an elephant named Ramachandran, who has been in captivity for about 40 years, has been responsible for 13 deaths—six mahouts, four women, and three other elephants.
- Gentle giant—The royal family of Nilabur donated an elephant named Keshavan to the Guruvayur Sreekrishna Temple in Kerala. The gentle disposition behavior of this 11-foot-tall elephant soon made him the darling of the temple authorities and devotees. After Keshavan’s death in 1976, the temple erected a life-sized statue of the beloved decorated elephant. His tusks along with a portrait also adorn the temple’s entrance.
- Chain reaction—Much of the world first became aware of the plight of Kerala’s temple elephants from Sangita Iyer of the Voice of Asian Elephants, a non-profit she founded. Her award-winning 2016 documentary, Gods in Shackles, exposed "the dark side of the glamorous temple festivals that exploit temple elephants for profit under the guise of culture and religion."
- Cruel to be kind?—The reason the mistreatment of captive elephants is so widespread is that elephants are still wild animals, and as such, they do not willingly obey human commands. So, trainers who plan to use them for rides, religious ceremonies, tricks, and other purposes often resort to cruel methods to break their spirit until they do obey.
- Or just play it by ear—A simple way to distinguish between Asian and African elephants is to check out the ears. African elephants have large, fan-shaped ears (that some say resemble the continent of Africa). The ears of Asian elephants are rounded and much smaller (that some say resemble the country of India). You heard it here!
Discover the vibrant temple culture of Kerala and discuss evolving traditions during Soul of India: The Colorful South.
