All is not well for elephants during summer season

KOTTAYAM: The festival season from January to April is also a time of great suffering for elephants. They are often forced to travel long distances, standing in trucks for hours. Many processions take place under the scorching sun. Elephants need complete rest and proper nutrition during the summer, but they are often deprived of water, food, and rest while being transported to festivals and parades.

An elephant drinks around 200–255 litres of water per day, but during processions, they hardly get even half of this amount. If they are overworked without sufficient hydration, they become agitated. Elephants can tolerate heat up to 38°C, but they lack sweat glands, making it difficult to regulate body temperature. Continuous exposure to the sun between 11 AM and 3 PM can cause severe stress. Their thick, dark skin further increases body heat.

Continuous processions without rest
Extreme heat and processions without rest
Dehydration and torture from mahouts
Some people deliberately provocate elephants for entertainment
Use of laser spot flashes to agitate them
Processions during musth (madness phase) can lead to dangerous situations
Loud noises can cause panic in elephants

Wet sacks
Regularly wet the elephant’s body to cool it down
Place wet sacks under their feet when standing on tar roads
Veterinarians should monitor their physical condition at regular intervals
Ensure they get adequate rest

Five deaths in last 1.5 months
In Palakkad, Kootanad, an elephant killed its mahout during a religious event
In Thrissur, Elavally, an elephant fatally attacked a person brought for a festival
In Koyilandy, during a temple festival, elephants ran amok, resulting in three deaths