A group of elephant lovers at Vaikom here have been supplying captive elephants stranded in the temple town due to the lockdown a daily treat of pineapples. Three of the elephants — Mavelikara Ganapathi, Kiran Narayanan Kutty and Cherussery Raja — were brought to Vaikom last month in connection with the festival season while the fourth elephant, Thottakkadu Yamuna, lives on the premises of the Vaikom Mahadeva temple.
Ajith, secretary of the Vaikom Vadakkenada Anapremi Sangham that leads the initiative, said here on Tuesday that Noushad, a wholesale fruit vendor at Velloor, offered them a truckload of pineapple free of cost.
“Noushad who was unable to find a market for the fruit asked us whether we would be interested in taking a truckload of the fruit free of cost. With these animals and their mahouts having little chance to move out in search of food, we felt it was our responsibility to feed the elephants and took delivery of the load. The animals seem to love the fruit,” he said.
Over 1,500 kg
While the total stock is over 1,500 kg, the mahouts insist on limiting the daily intake for each animal at 50 kg. “They maintain that too much of the fruit may have an impact on the musth period of the animal. This, however, is not applicable for Yamuna, a she elephant, and Ganapathi, who is already in musth,” said Mr. Ajith.
P.O. Nameer, Professor of Wildlife, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur, said pineapple was one of the most preferred fruits even for wild elephants. “The initiative is laudable as pineapple is one of the most suitable supplements for elephants after grass,” he said.