CHALAKUDY — Robotic elephants are being adopted in temple festivals across the Indian state of Kerala in 2024. PETA and other nonprofit organizations have donated approximately 40 robotic elephants to temples in India, with each costing about $6,000.

Mechanical engineer Prasanth Prakashan designed these robotic elephants, which are constructed from fiberglass, iron, and rubber. Electric motors are used to move their heads and eyeballs. Prakashan stated that the robotic elephants currently cannot walk. "But they will," Prakashan said. "I'm working on it." "You can't create an original elephant just as you cannot duplicate a human," Prakashan said. "But we try to capture the majestic animal's essence as much as we can." "It was something we had to figure out on our own," he added.

The first robotic elephant, named Irinjadapilly Raman, was installed at the Irinjadapilly Sree Krishna Temple in 2023. This installation followed Prakashan gaining PETA's attention in 2023 due to a viral video featuring his robotic elephants at a Dubai festival. The head priest, Rajkumar Namboothiri, expressed support for the robotic elephants. "Children would never be able to approach a live elephant so freely," Namboothiri said. "They had trees and forests before," Namboothiri said. "Now, we have concrete jungles, heat and noise. … Elephants are tortured and abused. It's not right." K.I. Purushottaman, a temple president, also noted a benefit. "With a robotic elephant, we don't have that fear," Purushottaman stated. "That's a big relief."

The use of live elephants in festivals has raised concerns. Nine people died in 2024 from elephant rampages at Kerala temple festivals. Khushboo Gupta, vice president of policy at PETA India, described the conditions live elephants face. "These elephants are forced to stand there for hours in the heat, with large crowds, drums and fireworks," Gupta said. "Any trigger could cause them to go on a rampage." Andrea Gutierrez, a University of Texas professor, said, "But people want these huge impressive tusks, which almost feels like a military presence."

Despite the adoption of robotic elephants by some temples, some elephant owners and temple administrators have expressed opposition. K. Mahesh, an elephant owner who rents his elephant for festivals, questioned the purpose of robotic elephants in a temple. "If you don't believe elephants are sacred, what's the point of a robotic elephant in a temple?" Mahesh said. Sooraj Nambiat, an artist, said, "This is my trade. … I'm not out to ruin their tradition." "But, if we don't stop treating elephants like commodities, future generations won't have them," Nambiat said. P.S. Easa, a wildlife biologist who helped draft Kerala's captive elephant regulations, said, "Sadly, there's a lot of money to be made with elephants." Several temple administrators have also denounced robotic elephants for rituals and festivals.