Thiruvananthapuram: Sivasankaran, an elephant of the Sreemahadevar temple Parassala, turned violent and killed one of its mahouts on Thursday. The deceased, Jayan, 38, of Kariprakonam colony, Perumpazhuthoor near Neyyatinkara was his second mahout, say forest officials. Police said the elephant was being taken to gather palm leaves for feeding when he turned violent at around 10.30 am. He trampled Jayan to death while a helper Kannan escaped to safety by climbing a coconut tree. The elephant whose leg was stuck in a drain was later sedated and chained by mahouts and forest officials. He was in musth since the past two months.
The Travancore Devasom Board has announced a solatium of Rs 1 lakh for the mahout’s family. Jayan was the first person to be killed by a captive elephant this year. Last year, 13 persons were killed by 12 elephants. History of violence Tusker Sivasankaran had gained fame in recent years with a campaign to rehabilitate him to Kottur elephant rehabilitation facility. He had previously killed two persons in 2004 and 2009. The 24-year-old elephant displayed aggressive behaviour towards humans after being chained at the same spot for two years continuously. Finally due to an online campaign and help from Union Minister Maneka Gandhi, the chief wildlife warden directed that he be shifted to Kottur elephant rehabilitation facility. However, this transition was derailed by a section of devotees.
“This elephant is aggressive because he is severely underfed and chained all the time. He needs 250 litres of water and around 150 kg of food every day. He is not allowed to take a dip in the water adding to his aggression. Since chains are never taken off, he wobbles and sways his head showing restlessness,” said an elephant lover. Around 25 captive elephants have died in 2016 and eight, all of them at tender ages, passed away in 2017.
