WORLD ELEPHANT DAY

We have a popular saying in Tamil "Yaanai irundhalum aayiram pon irandhalum aayiram pon".  This means an Elephant is worth a thousand whether he lives or dies.  It is an amazing creation of God and truly a Magnificent creature.  The size, form, features and the Majesty about this animal is really mind boggling.  Ther is an Elephant is almost every temple in South India and it is amazing to watch these elephants.  You can stand and keep watching them in bewilderment for hours together.

I have a friend Shridhar who is very fond of elephants and has been maintaining a collection of pictures, stories and news about elephants.  I saw his collection of photos about 25 years ago and was really stunned by his interest in learning about elephants and following the same with passion.  He sent me a mail this morning about World Elephant Day and immediately I was thinking of my visit to the Elephant Orphanage in Pinnawala in Sri Lanka last year in August.  It was a breathtaking experience to see the elephants in that Orphanage and we followed the herd when they went across the road to the river.


These elephants are being killed for the Ivory Tusk they have and they are also being tortured and misused in some places.  We should let them lead a peaceful life of their own in the forests and not disturb them.

This phenominal creation of God can actually destroy anything and everything that is confronts.  A large african tusker can weigh upto 5 tonnes.   The Elephant can live upto 70 years and prefers to always be part of a herd.  They love to be with their family all the time.  There is a period called "Musth" and during this time the Male Elephants can really go on a rampage.  This is a period during which the "testosterone" levels are very high.  The Male Elephants are very aggressive during the period of "Musth".  Watch this live footage of what they can do:



We need to leave them in peace and watch them from far.  While we have a right to live in this world we need to allow the others to enjoy a similar right.

We have used this unique animal in the olden days for building massive structures like Temples.  They have been used for carrying heavy and huge boulders and trees.  Elephants are known as the "working animals" and they enjoy working.  Being a pure vegetarian these majestic animals are very polite and nice.  They are also playful at times.

Elephants are really adorable, peaceful and gigantic animals and we need to respect their privacy and way of living.  Long Live Elephants and lets allow them a very comfortable co-existence in this world.

T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E.
12th August 2014