The woman trying to save India’s tortured temple elephants

Sangita Iyer is on a mission.

As a child, the documentary maker, who was born inside the Indian state of Kerala nonetheless now lives in Toronto, seen ceremonial elephants being paraded and thought they’ve been beautiful. Later, she realized in regards to the ordeal the animals are subjected to.

“So many elephants had ghastly wounds on their hips, large tumours and blood oozing out of their ankles, on account of chains had scale back into their flesh and loads of of them have been blind,” Iyer instructed the BBC.

She has made a documentary, Gods in Shackles, in an attempt to entice consideration to the treatment of temple elephants she seen in India.

“They’ve been so helpless and the chains have been so heavy,” she acknowledged. “It was fully heart-breaking for me to witness this.”

Hindu and Buddhist traditions give elephants an elevated standing. For tons of of years, temples and monasteries have used them to hold out sacred duties. Devotees even search blessings from them. The reputation of some elephants outlives their time on Earth.

Near Kerala’s well-known Guruvayur Temple you will notice {that a} life-size concrete statue of a quite a bit beloved elephant known as Kesavan. Its tusks adorn the doorway of the temple. It is claimed that Kesavan circled the temple sooner than collapsing and dying in 1976, aged 72. It is common to see of us accumulate to mourn the dying of temple elephants – even when they are not that well-known.

“They torture the elephants to dying, and after their dying they delicate lamps and shed crocodile tears, as if they really actually really feel sad for these elephants,” Iyer acknowledged.

Ceremonial elephants are utilized in temples all through India, nonetheless their presence is in depth in Kerala. The state is residence to a couple fifth of the nation’s roughly 2,500 captive elephants. The animals are owned by temples along with individuals. Guruvayur temple alone has better than 50 elephants.

Ceremonial elephants can herald lot of money to their householders. Some animals fetch better than $10,000 {{dollars}} per competitors, Iyer acknowledged. The money is paid by the competitors organisers, along with native retailer householders and landlords.

Iyer, who describes herself as a practising Hindu, has been based in Canada for a lot of years. All through a go to to India in 2013, she seen elephants for the first time with out their ceremonial ornaments and clothes.

“These animals have been brutalised using vicious weapons like bullhooks, spiked chains and prolonged polls with a poking spike – which is used to poke elephants of their joints to set off excessive ache,” she acknowledged.

“It was pathetic to take a look at this elephant dip its paralysed trunk proper right into a water tank,” Iyer acknowledged. “It couldn’t scoop up water.”

Consultants say that restrictions imposed by temple authorities have prevented appropriate scientific analysis of the bodily and psychological state of affairs of temple elephants.

“A temple by itself can under no circumstances be an outstanding place to keep up an elephant,” acknowledged Dr Raman Sukumar of the Indian Institute of Science, an expert on Asian elephants.

“The elephant is a extraordinarily social animal and have to be solely saved in social groups. Elephants must under no circumstances be saved solitarily in temples, as with solitary female elephants in temples in Tamil Nadu, or with all-male groups in temples in Kerala,” he acknowledged.

Amongst Asian elephants, solely males have tusks – which might be most popular with temple authorities in Kerala. Nonetheless female elephants are broadly utilized in numerous components of southern India.

In 2014, Iyer seen a captive cow elephant and was mesmerised by it, she acknowledged. “After I first seen Lakshmi, it was love at first sight.”

“I put my hand beneath her neck and touched her chest. As rapidly as I did that, she put her trunk on my hand to scent me. They’re so delicate to scent.”

Iyer sprayed water on Lakshmi and fed her pineapples and bananas. A 12 months later she was shocked when she met Lakshmi as soon as extra.

“I was devastated to see her eyes oozing out tears. She was taking her trunk tip and was rubbing herself and massaging herself,” Iyer acknowledged.

Apparently Lakshmi had taken meals from her mahout (an elephant’s handler) and in a match of anger he lashed out at her mercilessly. One in all many blows with the bullhook landed in her eye and blinded her.

With the intention to make an elephant obey her mahout, handlers put the animals through a torturous teaching routine that takes place away from temples.

“They tie and beat the elephants for 72 hours or until their spirits are broken they normally obey whatever the mahouts say,” Iyer acknowledged. “They’re like zombies. Many elephants are merely dwelling skeletons.”

“Temples in a given space must collaborate in creating sufficient facilities for sustaining elephants in an setting which ensures their whole welfare,” acknowledged Dr Sukumar.

Last 12 months, Kerala’s state authorities launched its intention to strengthen the foundations governing captive elephants, nonetheless progress has been sluggish. Activists say even the prevailing pointers is not going to be accurately utilized.

The temple authorities are reluctant to differ, in line with Iyer.

“Some are in deep denial,” she acknowledged. “It is easier to deny reasonably than accept we’re flawed and say we’re ready to correct the flawed.”