Elephants turn violent: 4 killed

Three mahouts and one woman were killed in elephant attacks during festival parades in Kerala, India in the last three weeks. The woman was killed by an elephant at Sabarimala Sannidhanam. Elsewhere elephants also killed mahouts at three different festivals – Ayyappan Vilakku at Narayanankulangara, near Tripunithura, a festival of Shiva temple at Thrithala and parading at the Mahadeva Temple at Varanappily near Kayamkulangara, according Heritage Animal Task Force. Elephants turned violent after they were forced to parade day and night without rest. They seem to have flouted guidelines prohibiting parading of

Elephants turned violent after they were forced to parade day and night without rest. They seem to have flouted guidelines prohibiting parading of elephant for more than three hours at a time and should not be paraded during night. A Supreme Court order dating back August 18, 2015, states, elephant parades can only be conducted with the statutory permission of the District Collector.