THRISSUR: This life-size mechanical copy of an elephant has been installed in Hindu temples around India to replace the endangered species. It flaps its ears and squirts water from a waving trunk.
The model, which is made of rubber and fiberglass and trundles on a metal frame that can support a rider, is one of several that animal rights activists are promoting as an alternative to India’s elephant imprisonment.
During numerous Hindu temple rituals, elephants are used and paraded around crowded areas as thumping drums, flashing lights, and loud music play.
It is usual for panicked pachyderms to attack and cause death.
