The elephant sanctuary at Punnathur Kotta, 3 Kms away from Sree Krishna Temple, Guruvayur, is the largest elephant sanctuary, with more than 62 trained elephants, all in one campus. All these elephants were offered by devotees of Lord Guruvayurappa. Gajapooja and Anayoottu are conducted here, as an offering to Lord Ganesha.Gajakesari Padmanabhan is the senior most in the group.
Anakotta (aka anathavalam) is a unique place it a world of elephants of different sizes and natures. Some are gentle and friendly, some are indifferent while a few are aggressive enough to be severely restricted by chains. If you want to spend time walking amidst 60 to 85 elephants kept in a 10 acre plot of coconut groves, Anakotta in Central Kerala welcomes you with an army of elephants.Elephant sanctuary is only a couple of kilometers from the temple town of Guruvayoor in Thrissur district.
Sanctuary premises as well as the animals are owned by Guruvayoor temple. The temple management takes care of all aspects of their care.Guruvayoor temple, one of the prominent temples in India, receives so many kinds of donations from devotees. They are all for the deity Lord Guruvayoorappan (Sri Krishna). Yet there is a gift offering that stands out from all the rest. Elephants
Initially, elephants were kept in Kovilakom compound in close proximity to the temple itself. As their numbers grew, they were relocated to their current locale which used to be the palace grounds of the local ruler.The local rulers, Punnathur Rajas built a palace which was called Punnathur Kotta (Punnatur Fort). After the demise of the last ruler Goda Varma Valia Raja, the property went to receivership. Soon after purchasing it in 1975, Guruvayoor temple committee relocated their elephants to here.Made in traditional Kerala architectural style (Nalu Kettu), this palace has a heritage of about 400 years. Located prominently in the middle of the sanctuary, it is currently used as a Mahout training centre. When the palace grounds became elephant sanctuary, people started calling it Anakotta (also Anakkotta) which means elephant fort. Punnathur kotta has been the location for some Malayalam movies. The old movie Vellam was almost entirely shot here. Oru Vadkkan Veeragadha, the movie that won several national awards had many scenes filmed here. There is also a small temple in the premises. The deities there are Lord Siva and Bhagavathi.
Elephants, although usually loosely tied to a concrete stump with chain, are always active. Some can be seen eating palm leaves or playing with it while some others may be playing with mud. You may also see them taken for a bath in the nearby pond. Morning is the bathing time. As all the elephants cannot be taken to bath at the same time, most morning visitors get to see a few elephants getting a wash. If you cannot reach here in the morning, that is going to be just fine. Feeding them happens around 3 PM. Also, Anakkotta is always a place filled with activity.Dangerous ones, especially those on masth period have extra chains to prevent them breaking free to bring mayhem.
Masth is a period of intense hormonal activity during which elephants become very aggressive. It is a function of their biological cycle and takes up a month or two every year. By the end of the period, elephants return to their previous placid nature again.Do you know there are elephants that are more than 80 years old? You will see some baby elephants too. Elephants are not treated as nameless creatures. They all have names and identities. The bigger ones even have fans who adore them. One of such elephants with a legendary status is Guruvayoor Kesavan. Several decades after death, he is still remembered for his good nature, intelligence and great size. You can even see his large statue in
