Kerala Elephants

       Elephants fun:The Elephant Festival Kerala or the Kerala Elephant festival is celebrated
every year in the month of Medam (Mid April -Mid-May) as per the Malayalam Calendar at
Thrissur in the Indian coastal state of Kerala . This annual festival is referred to as
Thrissur Pooram in Thrissur and is regarded as the festival of all festivals in Kerala.

 But He fires the enthusiasm among the elephant lovers by the elegant beauty and
the majestic look. The most popular elephant of Kerala owned by Guruvayoor Devaswom.
He has the privilege to carry the 'golden thidambu' of Lord Guruvayoorappa during
'Ekadasi Vilakku'and 'Arattu Ezhunnallippu' since 1962.
People had a strong belief that he had the blessings of Lord Guruvayoorappa.
He has been considered as the rebirth of 'Eiravatha' the elephant of King Indra.
So his presence attracts the elephant lovers and devotees. He has all the auspicious signs of the elephant explained in 'Mathangaleela' -a book about the elephants.
He is also known for the calm and obedient behavior and has never run amok during a festival.

Almost all temples in Kerala own one or more elephant which are donated by devotees.
These Temple elephants are very well looked after and carry the resident temple deity during
the annual festivities & processions.
These temple elephants are decorated with gold plated Forehead ornament called Nettipattom,
and are further adorned with bells and necklaces. The Mahouts and Priests mounted on the elephants hold silk
parasols called Muthukuda and sway large white Yak tail whisks called Venchamaram and Large peacock feather fans
called Aalavattom to the rhythm of the Panchavadyam.(http://youtu.be/04I1TTV1Nx4).

Nuclear Fallout May Help Track Illegal Ivory

http://animalzoon.blogspot.in/

Nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s and 1960s may at last have a silver lining, because researchers can now measure radiocarbon levels to tell when animals (including humans) were born and when they died, critical information in helping to track poachers of elephants, hippos, rhinos and other wildlife. 

The technique, outlined in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, measures radiocarbon-14 deposited in tissue, such as horns, hooves, nails, tusks, hair and teeth. It then uses that information to determine the animal’s birth and death data.

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The testing method could help curb the illegal ivory trade, which is wiping African elephants off the planet.

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“Ivory seizures and illegal trade of animals is on the scale of many billions of dollars each year,” senior author Thure Cerling, a University of Utah geochemist, told Discovery News. “Where did this material come from? Is it from recently poached animals? Is it from some government stockpile? These are important questions that can serve as a starting point for further investigative work.”