Robotic elephants draw crowds and controversy in some of India’s Hindu temples
Temples and animal-welfare donors say the animatronic animals cost about $6,000 each and can reduce deadly festival risks.
- Temples across Kerala are adopting robotic elephants to replace live animals during religious festivals, with PETA and other non-profits donating about 40 animatrons costing about $6,000 each.
- Stressed temple elephants can become deadly; nine people died in 2024 from rampages at Kerala festivals, prompting animal welfare advocates to seek alternatives.
- Mechanical engineer Prasanth Prakashan builds these life-size animatrons in about 15 days, with his first creation, Irinjadapilly Raman, debuting at the Irinjadapilly Sree Krishna Temple in 2023.
- Cheekamundi Sri Mahavishnu Temple President K.I. Purushottaman embraces the shift to eliminate fear, stating, "With a robotic elephant, we don't have that fear" regarding fatal attacks.
- Wildlife biologist P.S. Easa cautions that "You cannot change centuries-old tradition anytime soon," though mechanical engineer Prakashan continues refining animatrons to capture the majestic animal's essence.
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28 Articles
Part of the clergy supports the innovation.
Associated Press News
Robotic elephants draw crowds and controversy in some of India's Hindu temples
In India's southern state of Kerala, robotic elephants are replacing live ones in temple festivals. Rising concerns about elephant abuse and dangerous incidents have led to this change.
The life-size robotic elephants at Prasanth Prakashan's garden workshop can flap their ears, wag their tails and spray water from their trunks, but that's about all they have in common with their real-life counterparts, who are revered across India as embodiments of divinity.
In Hindu temples in the southern Indian state of Kerala, animal defenders, together with charitable foundations, have introduced about 40 full-scale robotic elephants to participate in religious festivals; mechanical copies are intended to replace living animals that are traditionally used during holiday processes, reported ABC News. PETA India and other activists supply robot temples at a cost of about $6,000 per unit. Mechanical elephants are …
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