The Guruvayur Devaswom maintains a unique elephant sanctuary at Punnathur Kotta, three kilometres away from Guruvayur Temple. This sanctuary is the only one of its kind in the world. Today, the Devaswom has 66 elephants. These jumbos are the offerings of the devotees to the Lord. A large number of pilgrims and tourists visit this fascinating spot every day. Kerala Tourism magazine’s team took a stroll around this vast area of over 10 acres which has been specially modified to take care of these humble and loving creatures. They were escorted by Mr. Vijayan, a retired mahout who frequents this place every day as he has a fascination for elephants. We found that unlike many other places, the elephants and the mahouts here had a good life and good facilities. In their ‘musth’ period (stress), are properly looked after and they are provided with food and water at the appropriate time. The sanctuary’s livestock manager Mr. Mohan and the team of veterinary doctors comprising Dr. T.C.R. Nambiar and Dr. Venu are always alert to make sure that the elephants are well-tended.
Kerala Tourism Magazine’s team also talked to Mr. Sadanandan who is the contractor supplying fodder to the elephants. It was his father, Mr. Makkuni who had been doing this for the past fifty years, and when he passed away two years ago, Mr. Sadanandan, who has been working in the
Middle East, took over the reins.
Mr. Sadanandan believes that Lord Guruvayurappan has blessed him by giving him the opportunity to serve the elephants.
Our team walked along the pathways, enjoyed the playful antics of the calves and also watched the activities of majestic elephants known by names such as Padmanabhan, Indrasen, Ramankutty, etc.
The Guruvayur Devaswom has acquired more property adjacent to the existing one and developed the area with the assistance of KITCO (formerly Kerala Industrial and Technical Consultancy Organisation Ltd.) to provide enhanced facilities for the pachyderms.

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