How a rehabilitation centre in Kerala gives rescued elephants chain-free, natural environment

“The elephant is in musth… Stay away from it,” warns a notice affixed to one of the concrete pillars of the tin-roofed enclosure where Soman is kept chained. According to sources from the Kerala Forest and Wildlife Department, Soman was captured from the Ranni Forest Division in 1968. He received training at the Konni Elephant Camp in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district and served as a kumki to train newly captured elephants until the practice of capturing wild elephants in India was banned in 1977. The Elephant Rehabilitation Centre in Kappukadu is home to 15 elephants of varying ages, making it unique in the country, as the elephants here do not experience the harsh training methods commonly found in many elephant training centres across India.

Each elephant here has a disturbing past. Rana, a male calf, was merely one year old when it was found injured after becoming ensnared in barbed wire surrounding an agricultural land in Odakolly, located in the Kanhangad range of the Kasargod district in Kerala. It was brought to the ERC in 2013. The young Rana received treatment from skilled veterinary professionals at this facility. Today, Rana is a healthy 14-year-old sub-adult. Similarly, 48-year-old Rajkumar, a mozha (a tuskless male elephant), was rescued from a circus troupe, while 32-year-old Hareesh was taken from a temple where he was leading a poor and unhealthy life. Both Rajkumar and Hareesh are now enjoying a healthy life among others at the rehabilitation centre. There are many, mostly youngsters, like Raju, Podichi and Munna.

Creating a natural environment for the jumbos

Currently, the ERC houses 15 elephants. Established in 2008 by the Department of Forests and Wildlife of the Government of Kerala, its purpose is to rescue, rehabilitate, and safeguard both captive and free-ranging elephants, as well as orphaned calves. Initially, the ERS began with just three elephants of varying age groups. Subsequently, orphaned calves from the wild, captive elephants from zoos, and elephants from other camps under the Department of Forests and Wildlife were added to the population. In the beginning, the ERC operated over 56 hectares of land located on the outskirts of the reserve forest within the Agasthyavanam Biological Park Range of the Thiruvananthapuram Wildlife Division. Over time, the facility has expanded to accommodate 17 elephants. However, the ERC was not adequately equipped to manage this number. A project report was developed, and in accordance with Phase-1 of the project, the ERC underwent renovations in 2024.

Also read: No selfies with the tigers: Why national parks are banning cellphones on safari

Now spanning 176 hectares of forest land, it provides a chain-free, natural environment for the elephants. As it is a rehabilitation centre, no strict training measures are used unlike many elephant training centres in the state and the country. The elephants enjoy a healthy relationship with the mahouts. For an elephant, a day begins with a water hose shower and then a detailed one at the Neyyar reservoir inside the ERC.

In the five-acre main enclosure inside the ERC, four sub-adult elephants are enjoying a water-hose shower given by Raju, a senior mahout at the ERC. “They are quite playful and thoroughly enjoy the sensation of water splashing on them. I do these three to four times daily during the summer,” he says. However, Raju offers a word of caution. It is essential to exercise great care when showering elephants. On one occasion, a sub-adult elephant used its trunk to pull his left hand. “The younger elephants can be quite mischievous. They move quickly and often grab the water hose with their trunks while being showered. I faced a difficult situation six months ago when a sub-adult elephant dragged me into the enclosure. I sustained fractures in my left leg and hand and was confined to bed for nearly six months,” he adds.

As two elephants were experiencing musth, they were confined within the interiors. They will be relocated to the enclosures once they have recovered. Aneesh G R, the range officer of the Agasthyavanam Biological Park Range, says that the purpose of the ERC is to offer the utmost care to the elephants in an environment reminiscent of their natural habitat. “The elephants thrive in a spacious atmosphere as they are allowed to roam freely in the open enclosure. Given the size of the enclosures, they have ample space to move about. Walking is an integral part of an elephant’s daily routine, so we strive to create a natural environment that they love here at the ERC,” he underlines.

India home to 22,446 wild elephants

After the morning shower with the water hose is completed, the elephants will receive their food at 11 am, consisting of large balls made from a nutritious blend of cooked rice, wheat, and jaggery. “The distribution of food is determined by the age and growth of each elephant. Additionally, we offer Napier forage, vegetables, and watermelons to ensure they adhere to their dietary requirements,” says Aneesh. Given his age, Soman is given a specialised diet. “We provide simple and light food items due to his weak and deteriorating teeth. He can easily chew on bananas, watermelons, and tender Napier grass. Therefore, we have tailored dietary plans for each elephant, especially for the older ones like Soman,” he adds.

At 2.30 pm, the bathing session will begin. Each elephant will occupy a designated spot in the Neyyar reservoir within the ERC. A short procession of elephants, one following the other and accompanied by their mahouts, makes its way to the banks of the reservoir, drawing the attention of visitors, especially children from various schools. “We do not allow the elephant to enter the middle of the reservoir due to the marshy bottom of it. We loosely tie one of the elephant’s legs to a trunk so that it can enjoy a pleasant dip in the reservoir,” says Madhu, another mahout at the ERC. If not restricted, the elephants, particularly the sub-adult ones, may tend to remain submerged in the reservoir for a long time,” he adds.

Ashish M, a Class 7 student, says he came to the ERC to see the bathing and feeding sessions of the elephants. “We have the opportunity to see the elephants up close here, which is the most significant benefit. This is my first experience witnessing how an elephant is fed with large rice-wheat balls consecutively. I am pleased to have had a remarkable experience with the jumbos here,” he says.

Also read: How Hyderabad Tiger Conservation Society built the human-leopard coexistence model

The Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus) is safeguarded under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. It is categorised as “endangered” in the Red List of Threatened Species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). According to a nationwide estimate known as the Synchronous All-India Elephant Estimation (SAIEE), which utilised DNA-based mark-recapture for the first time in India and was released on October 15, 2025, India is home to 22,446 wild elephants. Karnataka, with 6,013 wild elephants, remains the state with the highest population, followed by Assam (4,159), Tamil Nadu (3,136), Kerala (2,785), and Uttarakhand (1,792).

Kerala houses 389 captive elephants

“There are 2,675 captive elephants in India, according to the information received by Tamil Nadu-based animal welfare activist Antony Clement Rubin via an RTI response from the MOEFCC in November 2019. Of these, 1821 are in private custody and the rest are under the care of the forest department of various states. Among the elephants in private custody, some are owned by individuals, and some by institutions such as temples and circuses,” according to a report published in Mongabay India. Furthermore, a recent census of captive elephants conducted by the Kerala Forest Department indicates that the state currently houses 389 captive elephants, a decrease from the 521 recorded during a statewide census in 2018.

Kerala is also home to two other elephant training and rehabilitation centres: one located along the banks of the Periyar River in Kodanad (Ernakulam district) and the other situated in Konni in the Pathanamthitta district. While these two centres train elephants by placing them in an elephant kraal (a wooden enclosure where newly-captured (now rescued) elephants are kept and trained), the ERC in Kappukadu focuses solely on rehabilitation. “We do not employ any harsh methods for training. This is a rehabilitation centre, so the elephants that arrive here do not experience the strict training techniques typically used in training centres,” says M. Kumar, a mahout. According to him, managing the elephants is quite challenging. “As we refrain from using harsh training methods, the elephants here enjoy greater freedom. At times, it becomes difficult to control them,” he says.

Also read: Why do tigers venture hundreds of miles into the unknown?

Kumar is right. A few weeks ago, an elephant named Manu trampled a mahout named Vishnu to death during a bathing session. The elephant initially struck him with its trunk and subsequently crushed him. Despite the presence of other mahouts and wildlife wardens who attempted to rescue him, the elephant remained unyielding. Although this was the first occurrence of such a tragedy in the history of the ERC in Kappukadu, similar fatal incidents can be prevented if appropriate safety measures are implemented. “Elephants are wild and unpredictable. The mahouts here do not adhere to any safety protocols; they rely solely on commands, which may not always be effective. I have visited the ERC numerous times and have repeatedly advised the mahouts to employ safety measures when managing the elephants. However, my concerns have never been taken seriously,” says Udayakumar S K, a human rights activist based in Thiruvananthapuram.