The elephant is a majestic animal, and in many parts of the world is considered a deity. This is the case of India, for example, where its people have been using this animal for centuries. all kinds of religious rites. India is one of many cultures that use real or mythological animals to represent their gods. The elephant is a symbol of good luck and prosperityand the temples in India usually have a live elephant so that the most devout can pray and touch the animal to connect with Ganesha, God new beginnings, wisdom and knowledge in Hindu culture. However, facing the years of tradition is the harsh reality, and the animals that live in these temples they do not do it in the best conditions.
There are about 100 captive elephants in India, living in temples on a few Deplorable conditions. The years in captivity are causing the early death many of these animals or making them aggressive and dangerous for tourists. Fortunately, faced with this problem PETA’s Indian division has found a solution: robot elephants.
PETA India has started a campaign in which will donate robot elephants to Hindu temples, so that the animals that were held there can be released again. the temple of Sri Krishna (Kerala) has been the first to receive one of these gigantic animatronics, which are capable of moving and imitating the behavior of a live elephant. They can move the trunk and ears with remarkable naturalness, being able to pass for a real elephant if you don’t look too closely. The elephant that lived in the temple is close to being reintroduced back into the wildand PETA hopes it will be the first of many.
The robot elephant will be part of the rites of the temple
These robots manage to maintain the symbology in the temples while they protect the animal they are worshiping. The Sree Krishna religious received the news in a very good manner, and he explained it thus Rajkumar Namboothirihead priest of the temple, in a press release:
“True worship is protecting all life forms created by God. Allowing elephants to live in the wild should be the real way to revere the elephant god Lord Ganesha”
Although it may seem disrespectful to some to honor Ganesha with a robot, it is actually a measure that takes much more into account the cultural roots of India. The rituals of these temples will continue to be carried out as normal, and each one of them will leave a new elephant living in freedom. There are already subspecies of these animals that are in danger of extinctionso this is great news that brings hope to the future of this beautiful and intelligent animal.