MAHOUT TRAINING CENTRE PROPOSED IN KERALA

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http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action=fullnews & id=74793

Posted on 28 Dec 2005 # IANS Post your comment

 

 

Mahout training centre in Kerala hangs fire

Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala is still waiting for the central ministry

of environment and forests to give the go-ahead for an international

training centre for mahouts on the lines of similar ones in Thailand

and Germany.

 

The proposal for such a centre has been hanging fire for a year, says

veteran elephant expert Jacob Cheeran.

 

" It has been a longstanding demand for an international centre in

India, similar to that in Thailand and Hamburg in Germany. Initially,

it was to come up in Tamil Nadu but a year back this was given to

Kerala. But nothing has moved, " Cheeran told IANS.

 

Kerala has 800 captive elephants - the highest in the country -

trained to work in the forests and also at temple festivals.

 

" Project Elephant has already cleared the proposal for setting up an

international training centre here, but for reasons unknown it has not

picked up.

 

" As and when it is cleared, it is certainly going to get a lot of

mahouts, elephant managers and elephant lovers from various countries

who would be coming for expert training in elephant management, " said

Cheeran.

 

The location for centre has been identified at Kodanad in Ernakulam district.

 

Already there is a small training centre managed by the state forest

department at Kodanad and it has a kraal (a cage like structure made

out of wood). The kraal is a training yard for elephants and it is

unique to southern India.

 

" A centre for mahouts is a must because over the years I have noticed

that many mahouts, despite spending years with elephants, do not know

certain habits of the pachyderms.

 

" One example is that many mahouts are not aware that an elephant gets

six sets of teeth in its lifetime, " said Cheeran whose term in Project

Elephant got over recently.

 

The state forest department has, however, taken the initiative to

begin classes for training mahouts.

 

" The first such camp was held here early this month when 15 mahouts

turned up for five-day classroom training. From now on we are going to

conduct regular training camps for mahouts in Kerala, " said V.

Gopinath, chief conservator of forests (wildlife).

 

The forest department has also forwarded proposals to a few

departments in New Delhi seeking funds for the training course. The

number of elephants in the wild in India is estimated to be more than

28,000, with another 3,800 in captivity.