PETA is building robot elephants for Hindu temples

When Aravind first saw the 3.5-meter-tall elephant waving its trunk at the Irinjadappilly Sree Krishna Temple in Thrissur, Kerala, he couldn’t believe that he was looking at a robot. “He had garlands around his neck, all the bells and decorations,” the 30-year-old sweet shop owner told Rest of World . “And a pooja [Hindu prayer ceremony] was carried out in front of him. It was like any real temple elephant we’re used to seeing.”

The robot elephant, named Raman, was gifted to the temple in 2023 by PETA India and actress Parvathy Thiruvothu. The animatronic, which cost almost $6,000 to build, is part of a limited campaign by PETA and another animal rights organization, Voices for Asian Elephants, to demonstrate how robot elephants can replace real ones, minimizing cruelty to animals and risks for humans.

“If you visit the temple, people are very happy [with the elephant],” Aravind said. “The kids are reacting in the same way they would seeing a real elephant — they are overjoyed and taking photos with him.”

Elephants hold religious significance for Hindus as a living incarnation of Ganesha, the elephant-headed god. For centuries, they have been captured from the wild to live within the confines of temples, where they are trained to perform sacred rituals and bestow blessings upon devotees.

Ceremonial elephants are especially popular in the southern state of Kerala — home to a fifth of India’s 2,500 captive elephants. These are either owned by the temples or rented out by individuals. During annual festivals, crowds throng around elephants decorated with gold-plated jewelry, bells, and silk parasols, as they march down the street pulling chariots or carrying religious idols on their backs.

But the crowds and firecrackers have also caused the animals to try to break free, causing casualties and damage. According to Heritage Animal Task Force, captive elephants have killed 526 people in Kerala in a 15-year period. After Thechikottukavu Ramachandran, a celebrity elephant on Kerala’s festival circuit, caused a stampede that killed two people in 2019, local authorities tried to ban the use of festival elephants. But the ban was lifted in less than a month. The domesticated elephant population in Kerala has also dwindled in recent years due to neglect, injury, and a 2003 amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act that restricts transport of the animals into or out of the state, putting more pressure on the available elephants.

PETA has donated a total of five robot elephants to temples in south India, including one named Niranjana in Karnataka. South Indian actors partnered with the organization to sponsor the elephants. Voices for Asian Elephants has donated one robot elephant to the Sree Sankaran temple in Tamil Nadu, with a second in the works. The temples also rent them out to festival organizers — Raman has been booked out for the entire festive season.

“It initially took several months to make them, but our timelines are getting faster,” Hiraj Laljani, a spokesperson for PETA India, told Rest of World.

The Indian art-fabrication companies that built the elephants, Four He-Art Creations and Aanamaker, told Rest of World they have seen an increase in orders from temples after Raman’s launch. Prasanth Puthuveli, co-director at Four He-Art Creations, said the company has made 25 robot elephants, of which six were commissioned by PETA, two by Voices for Asian Elephants, and the rest by private buyers in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Dubai. Sooraj Nambiat, founder of Aanamaker, said around 10 Indian event management companies have purchased robotic elephants to rent out during festivals.

Some believe that Kerala’s centuries-old traditions would not be the same without real elephants. Aravind disagrees.

“Would Lord Ganesha want elephants to be beaten up, separated from their herd, made to do rituals, and stand all day?” he said. “I think the people who are against these things don’t care about animal welfare. … And this is less dangerous too. It won’t kill anybody.” ▰

Nadia Nooreyezdan is an independent journalist based in New Delhi.