Padayappa: The friendly India elephant whose fame is a curse

Padayappa is an iconic fig successful the confederate Indian authorities of Kerala.

The chaotic elephant, who lives successful the state's lush jungles, is known for his flappy ears, monolithic tusks and affable ways.

Padayappa's enslaved with the radical of Kerala goes backmost decades.

Locals successful the municipality of Munnar, adjacent Padayappa's habitat, telephone him a "gentle giant" who has ne'er wounded anyone, adjacent though helium occasionally pilfers nutrient from their homes and farms astatine night.

His sanction comes from the 1999 blockbuster movie Padayappa - a swashbuckling communicative of betrayal and household honour - starring superstar Rajinikanth.

Padayappa is besides a favourite with tourists, galore of whom flock to the hilly municipality to click photographs of the animal.

But implicit the past fewer months, the elephant, who is believed to beryllium 50 years old, has developed a spot of a atrocious lad image.

Locals accidental that Padayappa, who would erstwhile instrumentality leisurely strolls successful and astir the town, has go noticeably irritable astir humans.

In January, reports say, the elephant broke the windshields of a motortruck and a tuk-tuk earlier moving amok successful a adjacent food legume workplace and eating the crop.

The incidental was the latest successful a bid of episodes wherever Padayappa displayed convulsive tendencies, sparking concerns astir changes successful his behaviour.

Some property Padayappa's outbursts to him being successful musth - a play during which reproductive hormones surge successful mature antheral elephants, making them prone to aggression.

However, experts accidental that it's excessive quality involution successful Padayappa's earthy situation that's causing problems.

"Even elephants successful musth bash not get convulsive unless they are provoked," says Dr PS Easa, a subordinate of the Asian Elephant Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

He adds that Padayappa needs ample "disturbance-free habitats" wherever helium tin roam and provender astatine will.

"Elephant habitats request to beryllium protected and steps should beryllium taken to forestall their fragmentation," Dr Easa says.

Human-animal conflicts are often reported successful India arsenic shrinking earthy habitats unit chaotic animals to participate quality settlements successful hunt of nutrient and shelter. In Kerala itself, rogue tuskers separated from their herds person killed 105 people betwixt 2018 and 2022.

In January, aft authorities wood officials captured live a rogue elephant successful Palakkad district, they recovered that its assemblage had much than a twelve pellet marks, perchance from aerial guns. Locals claimed that the elephant had been wreaking havoc successful their colony for months and alleged it had adjacent killed a man.

Padayappa's quality neighbours accidental helium is different.

Lalita Mani, who lives successful a municipality adjacent Munnar, says Padayappa has visited her location astatine slightest thrice and eaten bananas and bamboo.

Once, she says, Padayappa uprooted 10 banana trees from her tract and "stood determination and took his clip to devour the effect earlier dilatory walking away".

Yet, Ms Mani has thing but affection for him. "The mediocre carnal comes erstwhile helium feels hungry. He does nary harm," she says.

Padayappa is mostly recovered roaming successful and astir the forests of Munnar, though helium makes occasional detours to different areas.

Hadlee Renjith, a wildlife lensman who has been tracking Padayappa's movements since 2014, describes him arsenic a majestic carnal whose near tusk "is somewhat longer than the close one".

Mr Renjith sees the pachyderm astatine slightest erstwhile successful 2 months. "I movie from a harmless distance. He ignores me, but appears to beryllium posing for the photograph," helium says, adding that Padayappa is the "most human-friendly" chaotic elephant helium has ever seen.

Stories astir Padayappa's mischievous but affable demeanour person made him a section celebrity.

If helium is crossing the road, locals halt their vehicles to fto him pass. Tourists travel looking for him to click selfies. And shopkeepers accidental they don't adjacent caput the elephant occasionally raiding their stores, arsenic helium brings a batch of customers.

"Padayappa is our marque ambassador," says Vinod Vattekkat, vice-president of Showcase Munnar, an inaugural that promotes tourism successful the region.

That is wherefore the abrupt alteration successful Padayappa's behaviour has amazed galore people.

In December, Padayappa reportedly trampled connected 2 bikes erstwhile immoderate tourists tried to artifact his way. The men were seemingly trying to instrumentality a photograph of the elephant.

In April, helium charged astatine a bus which had astir 50 passengers, and damaged its windshield.

Padayappa's fans judge that his outbursts are triggered by humans who privation to "annoy" him.

Mr Renjith recalls an incidental from past year, wherever Padayappa was trying to transverse a road. A autobus operator tried to velocity past him alternatively of waiting.

"Padayappa didn't similar it. He thrust his trunk into the conveyance and its windshield broke," says the photographer, adding that the elephant instantly disengaged from the vehicle.

Suresh Palraj, who works astatine a plantation successful Munnar, says tuk-tuk and tractor drivers often provoke the elephant by continuously honking astatine him.

In December, wood authorities filed a lawsuit against a man who tried to scare Padayappa distant from his beverage plot by blaring his horn.

Experts accidental that tourism picking up successful the scenic region, aft a pandemic-induced lull, could besides person irritated the elephant.

"There is thing antithetic astir Padayappa's behaviour. All chaotic elephants get irritable erstwhile you get adjacent to them and effort to click selfies," says wildlife adept James Zachariah, who has observed Padayappa for 2 decades.

"They complaint due to the fact that they consciousness threatened. But that does not needfully mean they volition onslaught you," helium says, adding that helium thinks a batch of the sermon astir Padayappa's behaviour is "exaggerated".

Since Padayappa's actions started making headlines successful India, helium has besides received a batch of media attention.

One paper editorial reminded its readers that Padayappa was "always an elephant successful the chaotic - to beryllium treated with respect and caution".