Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has written to Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan seeking facilitation of a female captive elephant from a willing temple in Kerala for the Kollur Mookambika Temple in Karnataka. The request is relevant for UPSC because it links temple rituals with inter-state wildlife regulation and the legal conditions governing captive elephants.

The Karnataka government has asked that the transfer or donation process comply with applicable statutory provisions and rules. The request is framed as a cultural gesture between the two states, but it also depends on wildlife-law compliance.

The release states that Kerala had earlier rejected a Telangana request for camp elephants maintained in Kerala’s facilities. It also says Kerala has around 30 captive elephants in government-run camps and a total captive elephant population estimated at about 368.

The release further states that inter-state transfers of elephants can be permitted only where ownership certificates were issued before 24 February 2024 and the elephant’s genetic profile has been entered into the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change’s electronic monitoring application.

Background and earlier position

Captive elephants in India are regulated under wildlife and forest administration systems because they remain protected animals even when kept by private owners, temples, or camps. Inter-state movement therefore requires documentary compliance rather than informal transfer.

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