Latest / UNCHAINEDTV'S Truth Files with Jane Velez-Mitchell / UnchainedTV: Robot Elephants Are Replacing Real Ones! And, That's Great!

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UnchainedTV: Robot Elephants Are Replacing Real Ones! And, That's Great! · UNCHAINEDTV'S Truth Files with Jane Velez-Mitchell

0:00
Check this out.
0:01
Those are not real elephants.
0:03
They look like real elephants, but they are
0:06
life-size robotic elephants.
0:09
And that photo was taken moments ago in
0:13
India.
0:13
We are bringing you the latest.
0:16
Here's what happened.
0:18
Captive elephant-related tragedies, which you're looking at,
0:21
have now killed six people and left more
0:24
than 50 people injured in India.
0:26
This one temple ceremony turned into a nightmare
0:29
when two elephants, as you can see, spooked
0:31
by fireworks, deprivation, exhaustion, and abuse, sparked chaos
0:36
in the huge crowd.
0:37
There was another captive elephant at a different
0:41
festival who gored two people, one of whom
0:43
later died in a desperate bid for freedom.
0:46
That elephant ran for more than eight miles
0:49
before being recaptured.
0:51
And you can see the attempts to recapture
0:53
that poor, poor, animal.
0:57
And this has highlighted the immense suffering and
1:00
safety risks posed by elephants used in temple
1:03
ceremonies in India.
1:05
And now, what a miracle, you are looking
1:09
at robotic elephants.
1:11
They are realistic, they are life-size, and
1:13
they offer the solution.
1:15
All of India's temple elephants can be sent
1:18
to sanctuary to live out their lives in
1:21
peace while these lifelike robots take their place,
1:25
preserving the culture without cruelty.
1:29
And we are so honoured to have the
1:31
woman who is making this happen.
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She is spearheading this, Sangeeta Iyer, Executive Director
1:38
of Voices for Asian Elephants and award-winning
1:41
filmmaker of the UN-nominated documentary, Gods in
1:45
Shackles.
1:46
What you are looking at now are robotic
1:49
elephants.
1:50
Tell us all about it, Sangeeta.
1:52
It's wonderful to be here, Jane, and what
1:55
a great honour for me to be on
1:57
this show to talk about these precious animals.
2:00
And yes, indeed, they are robotic elephants and
2:03
they weigh approximately 800 kilos.
2:06
You can multiply that to make it into
2:08
pounds, 2.2 pounds.
2:11
I mean, one pound, sorry, one kilo is
2:13
2.2 pounds.
2:14
And they look exactly like live elephants, ears
2:18
moving, eyes moving, tails moving, and they even
2:22
sprinkle water on the devotees.
2:25
And so this is really catching on.
2:27
We launched our very first robotic elephant last
2:30
year in the Southern Indian state of Tamil
2:33
Nadu.
2:34
And the first few images that you shared
2:38
earlier, that was from the location called Gudalur
2:42
at the Sivan Kovil.
2:45
And so I went there live to watch
2:48
this.
2:48
I mean, live on camera that is.
2:51
And it was just an incredible privilege to
2:55
realise that what we are doing is making
2:58
a difference.
2:58
This particular elephant you're seeing, his name is
3:01
Shiva Shakti.
3:03
And Shiva Shakti was just donated recently on
3:06
February the 24th to a temple called Bhagavati
3:12
Temple, which is located in Thrissur, Kerala.
3:15
And Kerala is actually the elephant entertainment hub.
3:20
It is indeed the ground zero for elephant
3:23
torture.
3:24
And this is where my film, Gods and
3:26
Shackles, that is now streaming live on Unchained
3:31
TV, this is where it was entirely produced.
3:34
And so for me, it's a full, like,
3:36
you know, coming full circle kind of moment
3:39
for me, because this is where everything started.
3:42
And to be able to present this incredibly
3:45
precious robotic elephant that has, you know, kind
3:51
of replaced the live elephant in this particular
3:53
temple is just like an aha moment for
3:57
me.
3:58
And one of the great things about donating
4:01
this elephant is that they appreciate, they understand
4:05
the value of not using live elephants.
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And one of the founders or one of
4:11
the persons who actually was responsible who organised
4:14
this whole robotic elephant, he came and he
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said that just a few months ago, a
4:22
live elephant was so frustrated, so distressed that
4:26
he gored his handler and killed him instantaneously.
4:30
That's when the temple made a commitment that
4:33
they would never, ever use live elephants.
4:36
But then they didn't know where to turn
4:38
until Voices for Asian Elephants.
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We came into the picture and we said,
4:44
we're going to help you.
4:45
You can still have the cultural festivals.
4:48
Cultures can thrive.
4:50
Elephants don't have to suffer.
4:52
People don't have to get killed in the
4:54
stampedes.
4:55
And there could be a total peaceful coexistence
4:58
between elephants and culture and the traditions, right?
5:02
So it's a win-win situation for all.
5:06
When I'm looking at this, I'm seeing, I
5:10
can't tell the difference.
5:12
I actually, when you sent me this footage,
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I was like, I hope I got this
5:16
right.
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I hope these are the robot elephants and
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not the real ones because I'm looking at
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this and I'm like, damn, they look so
5:25
real.
5:26
Their eyes move, their ears move.
5:28
They, as you said, people can also get
5:31
on top of them because part of the
5:32
abuse is that a lot of times there's,
5:34
you know, four or five, six men on
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top of these elephants.
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And I saw some four men on top
5:41
of one of these robotic elephants.
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They're so fantastic that you really have to
5:47
remind yourself, these are robot elephants.
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Look, there's the guys on there.
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One, two, three, four, at least, that I'm
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seeing.
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So they're strong.
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They're huge.
5:58
How much do they cost?
5:59
Because I know that your nonprofit has very
6:03
little overhead.
6:04
Everything you do goes directly to saving elephants
6:09
in India.
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That's your life's work.
6:11
How much do these cost?
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We're going to go straight out to you.
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How much do these cost?
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They cost about $10,000.
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And this includes not just the creation of
6:25
the elephant, designing of the elephant, but also
6:27
the jewellery and the transportation and all of
6:30
the rest that goes with it.
6:31
Yeah.
6:34
$10,000.
6:36
That's not a lot.
6:38
No, that's not, not at all.
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And this elephant has the ability to do
6:42
almost everything that a live elephant does, except
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it won't run amok.
6:47
You know, the robotic elephant will not run
6:49
amok.
6:49
He sprinkles water on the devotees, which is
6:53
one of the big deals, you know, that
6:55
they think that they are blessed when the
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elephant sprays water and, you know, their beliefs
7:00
are valuable and it can be preserved.
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The traditions can be preserved, like I said,
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and yet elephants don't have to suffer.
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And you mentioned about the men sitting on
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top of the elephants, right?
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When they do that on live elephants, they
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have to control the live elephants using brute
7:20
force, which means they'd have to use bull
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hook and they have to use long poles
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and keep poking and prodding.
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In fact, some of the elephants, the live
7:29
elephants are even drugged so that they can
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be brought under control.
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There's so many evil things that they do
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to these poor, precious, intelligent, highly supremely social
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animals.
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And these robotic elephants completely prevent all of
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the cruelty and the suffering that live elephants
7:50
would never ever have to endure.
7:55
Yeah.
7:55
And the image that you're just showing, this
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is one of the elephants who ran amok
8:00
on February the 13th.
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And as you showed previously a footage of
8:05
two elephants attacking each other, what happened was
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there was fireworks that they were lighting up
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just behind them, so close to them.
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And both these elephants, they were spooked and
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they didn't know what to do.
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And so they kind of started attacking each
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other in the process.
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Three people were killed, three devotees were killed,
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50 of them seriously injured.
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But here's the thing, one of the elephants,
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the image that you showed, he was so
8:35
badly injured.
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He sustained at least 24 grievous injuries.
8:41
And worse still, despite those grievous injuries, they
8:45
shackled and they took him to wherever he
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was brought from and tortured him further instead
8:53
of nurturing him.
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Of course, there were veterinarians who were trying
8:57
to treat them.
8:59
But in order for them to bring the
9:01
elephants under control, as I said earlier, they
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had to impose brute force.
9:07
And this is where despite the elephants being
9:09
injured, they still had to suffer.
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No compassion, no love, only cruelty.
9:15
All that has been replaced by the robotic
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elephants.
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And we are just so excited.
9:22
We are over the moon to be contributing
9:24
these robotic elephants.
9:26
And we are only going to expand.
9:28
There are so many temples who are so
9:30
delighted seeing the progress and how they can
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still preserve their culture and traditions.
9:37
And they're actually asking, how can we obtain
9:40
these robotic elephants?
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So we're absolutely thrilled to be, we hope
9:46
to do, provide like two or three more
9:49
this year later.
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And I'll share with you when it happens.
9:52
And yeah, it's all good.
9:55
What I would like to say is I
9:57
think this is the best spend for animal
10:01
rights that I've ever heard.
10:03
Because look, we all donate, we donate our
10:06
time, we donate our money as much as
10:09
we can.
10:10
And sometimes it's hypothetical, it's you're giving to
10:13
a possibility.
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But in this case, for only $10,000,
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so two people could split five each and
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get an elephant.
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My question to you is, because I've seen
10:25
this work in the past with other groups,
10:28
naming rights.
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If somebody donated $10,000, for example, I'm
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not saying I'm doing this, but my name's
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Jane.
10:36
Is there an Indian word for Jane?
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Would you be able to name the elephant
10:41
after the person who donated?
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Take that away.
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That's a really good question.
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Actually, I'll tell you something, right?
10:49
The first robotic elephant was donated by a
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person by the name of Ganesh Hariharan.
10:56
He donated it in his father's name.
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He lives in Chicago, but he donated it
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in his father's name.
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So we call the elephant Shankar Hariharan.
11:06
We gave him the last name.
11:08
Now, with regards to this particular elephant, he
11:12
was donated by Dolores Whitley.
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Obviously, we couldn't call the elephant Whitley because
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you need to have an Indian name and
11:20
there's no Indian translation.
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So what we did was we asked her,
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here are three Indian names, which one would
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you prefer?
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And we gave her the opportunity to select
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the name.
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So that's something we can do.
11:35
And somewhere at the bottom of the foot
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of the elephant or something we can say
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donated by Jane Valez Michelle, for instance.
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That's very sweet of you.
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Look, I would go in 50-50 with
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somebody.
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If somebody were willing to do 5,000,
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I would do 5,000.
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Or if we could get four people to
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do 2,500, I would do 2,500
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because I've never seen anything that has such
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a payoff immediately.
12:08
So I want to say that right now,
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I will say that if we can get,
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and I'll just say this right off the
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top of my head, I wasn't thinking about
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it, but I'll do 2,500.
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If we get three other people who can
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each do 2,500, we can have an
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elephant.
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I don't need the naming rights.
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I will give the naming rights to the
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other three people.
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Let's keep it out there in the atmosphere
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and let's see what happens.
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Additionally, you could get 10 people giving $1
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,000 each.
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But what I love about this is that
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the payoff is immediate and we know that
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there are temples in India who want these.
12:53
So somebody asked, how do we donate?
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It's very, very simple.
12:58
It's the easiest thing in the world.
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You go to vfaes.org forward slash donate.
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That's vfaes.org forward slash donate.
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That stands for voices for asianelephantsociety.org.
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So I urge everybody, look, $5, you can
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become a monthly donor.
13:21
I love this idea because the payoff is
13:25
immediate and what these animals have gone through,
13:28
the real ones, I just can't even imagine.
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It makes me completely embarrassed to be a
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human being.
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Let's listen to and watch the actual rampage
13:40
that occurred and you will hear the fireworks
13:42
in the background.
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It's disturbing, but we're only gonna play you
13:46
a very short less than 30 seconds of
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it.
13:48
So that
14:17
is, it's revolting and let's not attack any
14:22
particular nationality or culture.
14:25
We can talk about what's happening to elephants
14:27
in zoos here in the United States.
14:30
And that's also horrific.
14:31
We're going to get to that in a
14:32
minute.
14:32
So tell us who in their right minds
14:37
would set off fireworks when there's two elephants
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right there.
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Now, before you answer that question, let me
14:44
say that right where I live, they set
14:46
off fireworks every 4th of July next to
14:48
a bird sanctuary.
14:49
So again, this is a human problem, not
14:53
a problem of any particular ethnicity or or
14:57
nationality.
14:59
Take it away.
15:00
Yeah, absolutely.
15:01
First of all, I want to thank you
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so much for your generosity.
15:05
And you have started a chain reaction, put
15:09
it out in the universe.
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Thank you for your offer.
15:12
And we will promote it on our website.
15:14
Okay, with regards to the fireworks, listen, there
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are real stringent guidelines, rules, regulations, etc.
15:22
Nobody enforces it because the elephant lobby groups,
15:27
they have immense power to do whatever they
15:30
want.
15:30
In fact, the Kerala High Court had issued
15:34
specific guidelines saying you have to keep the
15:37
elephants at least eight metres apart.
15:40
What did you see in that image?
15:42
They were right.
15:42
I mean, in that video, they were right
15:44
next to each other.
15:45
And where was the fireworks coming from?
15:47
Behind the wall, right next to the elephant,
15:50
this this book, they were completely spooked, right?
15:53
You saw that.
15:54
So you're absolutely right.
15:55
Anyone in the right frame of mind will
15:58
never do this.
15:59
And given that this is a temple, would
16:02
you not follow the guidelines?
16:05
And would you not conduct ethical practise?
16:09
This is our challenge.
16:10
And these two elephants that you saw running
16:12
amok, these are from a world renowned temple
16:16
called the Guruvayur temple.
16:18
And my organisation voices for Asian elephants had
16:22
launched a public interest litigation three years ago.
16:26
And now they're actually still arguing the case.
16:30
But some incredible things have happened.
16:33
Because the Animal Welfare Board of India, the
16:37
Central Zoo Authority, and all of these top
16:40
Indian animal welfare organisations run by the government,
16:46
they have completely validated what we have been
16:51
suggesting all along that elephants are being mistreated.
16:55
And that if they are going to be
16:58
held in captivity, they need a minimum of
17:00
two acres of land to roam freely, unchained
17:04
when they're not being used in cultural festivals,
17:07
they need to be given a minimum amount
17:10
of water, they need to be given a
17:12
minimum amount and a certain type of diet,
17:15
and they need to be provided with shelter.
17:18
That's the absolute basic right to be shaded
17:21
from the elements like rain and sunshine and
17:25
torrential thunderstorm and lightning that also spooks the
17:29
elephants.
17:30
And a couple of them have died because
17:32
of heart attack, literally, you know, and so
17:35
even these basic things, this world renowned temple
17:39
cannot provide Guruvayur temple.
17:42
And that's what is really gut wrenching to
17:45
me.
17:46
Like when you are a temple, you are
17:49
supposed to practise the basic Hindu tenet called
17:52
Ahimsa.
17:54
Ahimsa means non violence, yet everything being inflicted
17:59
upon these elephants, everything is violent, because in
18:03
order to control this massive animal, you have
18:07
to impose brute force, real force.
18:10
And that in turn hurts these supremely intelligent
18:13
and highly sensitive animals.
18:16
And so yeah, so it's time, you know,
18:19
that all of the religious institutions took charge.
18:25
We have some breaking news.
18:27
So people are saying they want to donate.
18:30
People want to get together to get at
18:31
least one elephant out of this broadcast.
18:35
So let's go to the comments.
18:37
This is super exciting.
18:39
We have the incredibly generous Nilofar Ashgarian, who
18:43
often helps us, who says that she is
18:47
going to second what somebody else said, a
18:50
team of 10 to each donate 1000.
18:53
So we've got Nilofar, we've got me, and
18:56
we've got this person who said that he
19:02
or she would, she I guess, I think
19:05
you said 10,000, we need 10 people
19:07
to do 1000.
19:09
So Extropian Transhuman, which is quite a name,
19:13
are you willing, you can comment, are you
19:16
willing to give 1000?
19:18
Because then we're on our way, we've already
19:19
got 3000.
19:21
And we can move this up throughout the
19:24
course of this conversation.
19:25
There was somebody else, Bruce Anderson, who asked,
19:29
Sangeeta, does this ensure that an elephant will
19:32
be released to sanctuary, take it away?
19:35
No, it doesn't ensure that they'll be released
19:38
into a sanctuary because they don't have sanctuaries
19:41
for wild elephants.
19:42
They do have wildlife rescue and rehab centres
19:46
run by the government.
19:48
And it is up to the elephant owners,
19:51
you see, because these elephants, so you need
19:53
to understand the whole situation behind the captive
19:57
elephants of Kerala.
19:59
These elephants are owned by private citizens.
20:02
What these private citizens do is they lease
20:05
out these elephants for these temple rituals, right?
20:09
And they make money out of this.
20:11
If they are so culturally and traditionally connected,
20:15
then they should not even be charging, right?
20:17
Or they should not even be using the
20:18
elephants in the first place.
20:20
So the point in providing these robotic elephants
20:23
is to reduce the demand of live elephants.
20:27
When you reduce the demand of the live
20:28
elephants, it's going to cut into their pocketbook.
20:31
And then they'll realise, oh, my goodness, there's
20:33
nothing we can do with these live elephants.
20:35
So we might as well voluntarily surrender them
20:40
into an elephant rehab centre.
20:43
So there's nothing we can do to, like
20:46
in Thailand, you can buy out elephants.
20:48
That's not possible here in India because of
20:51
the laws, right, that many of them flout.
20:55
And yet when we try to do something
20:57
legally and ethically, we get attacked, being called
21:00
the enemy of culture, et cetera, et cetera.
21:03
But to answer your question, this will actually
21:06
reduce the demand for live elephants in many
21:09
temples and ultimately cut into the pocketbook.
21:12
This is going to take time and effort.
21:14
And I cannot guarantee that these private elephant
21:18
owners will voluntarily even give those elephants away.
21:22
But if they're not able to make money
21:25
out of these elephants, which they need in
21:27
order to maintain them, then I reckon they
21:31
would have no choice but to give them
21:33
away.
21:34
And we would say, OK, bring them to
21:39
the elephant rehab centre.
21:40
Again, in India, private rehab centres are not
21:45
allowed.
21:45
I mean, this is kind of crazy, right?
21:47
There are one or two available in different
21:50
states, like for instance, in Karnataka.
21:52
I know somebody who runs an elephant rehab
21:56
centre.
21:56
She does a phenomenal job and she collaborates
21:59
with the government.
22:01
That's the kind of thing we can do
22:02
in Kerala in the long run.
22:05
But this is not going to happen overnight.
22:09
You're saying is that we have to eliminate
22:13
the market for the captive elephants used in
22:19
temple ceremonies.
22:21
And it's kind of like think of stuff
22:23
that used to be normalised that isn't anymore.
22:28
You know, elephants in circuses.
22:30
So you reduce the demand for elephants in
22:34
circuses.
22:34
You know, when I first started this whole
22:36
nonprofit, after 30 years in the news business,
22:40
I went with a little GoPro camera in
22:42
the middle of the winter in Brooklyn, New
22:45
York, to cover a protest against elephants in
22:48
the circus.
22:49
And I thought, is this even worth it?
22:51
And I saw 200 people lined up, shaking
22:54
with the cold, nine degrees, demanding an end
22:57
to elephants in circuses.
22:59
And all the customers were walking right by
23:01
with their kids, ignoring us or basically telling
23:05
us to get lost.
23:07
And I thought, wow, this is an uphill
23:09
battle.
23:09
But guess what?
23:10
Not because of me, because of incredible organisations
23:13
like PETA, and because of those protesters, now
23:16
Ringling Brothers is out of business, does not
23:20
use any animals.
23:22
We thought it could never happen.
23:23
It happened.
23:25
Okay.
23:25
As I believe it was Nelson Mandela said,
23:30
it's always seems impossible until it happens, until
23:33
it's done.
23:34
So by making it cool to have these
23:38
robotic elephants and creating a demand for the
23:41
robotic elephants, then the real elephant's demand vanishes
23:46
and that business ends.
23:48
And that's exactly what happened with elephants and
23:51
tigers and lions and circuses that used to
23:53
be everywhere.
23:54
And they are, for the most part, with
23:57
some exceptions, gone, especially Ringling.
24:00
So it's worth it.
24:03
These things take over, right?
24:05
Can you elaborate?
24:07
Yeah, absolutely.
24:09
And so, as we are already seeing, we
24:12
launched our first robotic elephant last year in
24:16
the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, after
24:19
this temple watched what happened there.
24:22
And yes, exactly.
24:24
This is the robotic elephant called Sankar Hariharan.
24:27
And he was donated by one of our
24:29
precious donors.
24:31
And he donated the full amount for us
24:34
to buy him.
24:35
And we got the decorations and everything.
24:38
And so when we did this, actually, this
24:41
temple is, it actually borders Tamil Nadu and
24:45
Kerala.
24:46
So this temple watched what happened there and
24:49
said, can we also get this?
24:51
And so, of course, they reached out to
24:54
us and, you know, we designed this by
24:58
collaborating with an amazing designer who's based in
25:02
Kerala.
25:03
And when we donated now this temple to
25:06
this particular temple called Sri Bhagavati Temple, there
25:10
are other temples who are actually asking, can
25:15
we, can we, can we?
25:16
So we are creating ripples.
25:19
And this is how we kind of do
25:21
it gradually.
25:22
But we do it in a manner that
25:24
we are not being called the enemies of
25:26
the culture.
25:27
How are we diminishing the culture in any
25:30
way by using the robotic elephants?
25:32
We are allowing you to sit on top
25:35
of the elephants.
25:36
The elephant actually can even squirt water on
25:39
the devotees, you know, and you can actually
25:41
touch the elephants.
25:43
And this elephant actually conducts rituals.
25:46
It moves its tails, its tail, and it
25:51
can even sort of, we crawl him on
25:53
a, on a trolley, right?
25:56
He moves his ears.
25:57
And even his eyes, his eyes are absolutely
26:00
stunningly gorgeous when he looks up and down,
26:04
right?
26:04
And so you can never tell the difference,
26:06
even the colouration.
26:08
This is how the festival elephants look because,
26:12
you know, they consider it a pride and
26:15
privilege.
26:16
And so for me, the best way to
26:20
present the opportunity or to do this is
26:23
to present an opportunity to them and let
26:26
them take the reign rather than us impose
26:29
things on them.
26:30
When they see this trend, it's kind of
26:33
trendy right now.
26:34
When they see this trend to take over,
26:36
then there's going to be an issue with
26:39
the demand for live elephants because people are
26:42
now seeing, hey, there's peace here.
26:45
We can actually conduct this, you know, these
26:48
rituals peacefully.
26:49
We can, you know, we can fire, we
26:51
can use fireworks without worrying that elephants will
26:54
run amok.
26:55
People will not get killed.
26:57
Cultures can thrive.
26:59
And so that's, that's where our focus is.
27:02
And when the demand for the robotic elephant
27:05
increases, the demand for the live elephants will
27:08
decrease, will cut into the pocketbook of the
27:11
elephant owners who will not be able to
27:13
lease out their elephants to the temples, which
27:16
means they won't be able to make money
27:18
and, you know, elephants will be saved and
27:20
it's going to be a win-win situation
27:22
for all.
27:23
A lot of questions coming up as people
27:26
are watching on the Unshaded TV streaming network,
27:28
as well as on social media.
27:31
Tom wants to know, how is it that
27:33
these animals move?
27:35
What is the mechanism?
27:36
What are the gears?
27:37
Is it electric?
27:39
Tell us about the technology.
27:41
Yeah, it's not, it's not electric at all.
27:44
And I'm glad you raised that question, but
27:46
let me tell you, this is an artificial
27:47
intelligence based technology, artificial intelligence based robotic
27:53
technology.
27:54
Okay.
27:54
And I will tell you about the electrical
27:59
information, misinformation or disinformation that is going across
28:03
just as it's happening in our political arena.
28:07
Some of these elephant owners are pushing out
28:10
fake news saying that these elephants are connected
28:15
to electrical supply or whatever.
28:17
And as a result, four people were electrocuted,
28:20
complete nonsense, complete nonsense.
28:24
And so with regards to the specifics of
28:26
how they make this, I can tell you
28:28
that it's made with fibreglass and it's the
28:32
duration or fibre optics.
28:34
The duration is quite a bit.
28:36
And I don't think they have an engine
28:39
inside them.
28:42
How they move.
28:44
Yeah.
28:44
Like I said, I don't have the details
28:47
on the technology because the designer is obviously
28:50
going to keep it close to his chest.
28:52
I can only tell you that it's the,
28:55
it's an artificial intelligence based technology that they,
28:58
it's probably battery operated to my best of
29:01
guessing.
29:01
And even the batteries are like solar powered.
29:04
And so yeah, that's, that's about what I
29:08
know about the technology.
29:09
I'm not going to pretend like I know
29:11
how they are moving, but that's a really
29:15
good question.
29:16
And I did ask the designer and you
29:18
know, there are secrets that they will not
29:20
divulge.
29:21
That's just the way it goes.
29:22
I would have to think that this would
29:25
be cheaper for the temple too.
29:27
Animals are very expensive to keep up.
29:30
They, if you want to keep them alive,
29:32
even if they're being abused, they require veterinary
29:35
care and they require food, water, housing.
29:38
There's all their excrement that has to be
29:41
cleaned up.
29:42
I mean, it's expensive.
29:43
One of the reasons why horses unfortunately end
29:46
up going to slaughter is that people get
29:48
a horse on a whim or you know,
29:50
a romantic notion and then they see how
29:52
expensive it is.
29:53
So can you appeal to these temples on
29:56
a price basis?
29:58
Yeah, exactly.
29:59
And that's one of the things that we
30:01
are already doing.
30:02
And we did this with the temple in
30:04
Tamil Nadu, right?
30:06
Exactly what we said is not only leasing
30:09
the elephant from the elephant owner.
30:12
So that's one cause.
30:13
Number two is transporting them.
30:15
That's highly expensive, not just in terms of
30:18
money, but also in terms of the stress
30:20
and the physical and mental exhaustion that these
30:24
elephants have to endure.
30:26
And then of course, in terms of feeding,
30:28
I mean, many of these live elephants are
30:30
deprived of food, water, and shelter, and they're
30:33
transported for hours on end beneath the scorching
30:37
sunshine.
30:38
And sometimes they're paraded on hot, tar roads,
30:43
which kind of is really, really heartbreaking and
30:46
gut-wrenching.
30:47
And sometimes the elephants can't even walk.
30:50
The minute they see water, they take the
30:52
water and they toss it on their foot
30:54
instead of drinking the water.
30:56
Like that's how sad it is for these
30:58
poor elephants.
30:59
And so, yes, there's not just the financial
31:02
cost, but also all kinds of other costs.
31:05
Here, one of the elephants is being treated.
31:08
He's getting foot treatment from one of our
31:11
elephant care people called Steve Coyle.
31:15
He had actually worked with us in one
31:18
of the elephant rehab centres in Kerala.
31:22
And we can provide this kind of rehab
31:25
for the elephants, even the owners have.
31:28
And kind of coax and convince them that
31:31
it's in their best interest to kind of
31:35
retire these elephants.
31:36
And the temples to suggest, look at all
31:39
the costs, not just the financial, but all
31:41
of the costs.
31:42
And you just invest one time.
31:44
You don't even have to pay for this.
31:45
We are giving this to you.
31:47
And you can use the same elephant over
31:49
and over and over again, every single year.
31:51
In fact, you can add to your elephant
31:53
troop.
31:54
Maybe we can give you one elephant each
31:57
year, you know, if you wish, because they
31:59
need like two or three elephants in some
32:01
temples.
32:02
We are willing to do that for you,
32:04
you know?
32:05
So yes, indeed.
32:07
Yeah.
32:07
Money plays a big role.
32:10
I'm just so fascinated by this because it's
32:13
such a win-win.
32:15
And what is the reaction amongst the people?
32:18
It seems like they're very fascinated.
32:21
I don't know how they would react with
32:24
normal elephants, with real elephants, but it seems
32:27
that everybody is just playing their part and
32:31
not acting like, well, there's something wrong here
32:33
because these elephants aren't real.
32:34
You're seeing all these people engaged in very
32:37
ornate, elaborate cultural traditions, and they're doing it
32:42
with the elephants without any, to my view,
32:48
negative reaction.
32:50
Yeah, absolutely.
32:51
And so funny I should bring that up
32:53
because when they inaugurated this, because I could
32:56
not be there this time, I produced a
33:01
recorded video and I played it.
33:03
They displayed it on a big, big screen.
33:06
And oh my goodness, 300 to 400 women
33:11
and 300 to 400 men seated on either
33:14
sides.
33:15
It was just like pin drop silence.
33:18
Everybody was listening so keenly.
33:21
And towards the end, there was this massive
33:24
applause because everything I said in that related
33:27
to how the Hindu traditions actually promote ahimsa,
33:33
which is nonviolence, and yet they need to
33:37
open their eyes to see the real suffering
33:39
of the elephants.
33:39
So I used a small trailer of Gods
33:42
and Shackles in that presentation so they could
33:44
see the difference, you know, between the actual
33:47
live elephants and the suffering that they have
33:50
to endure and the people have to endure.
33:53
And here you have the robotic elephant.
33:55
So it takes a lot of awareness and
33:57
ongoing education.
33:59
And I think the temple authorities have done
34:02
a phenomenal job convincing the devotees and the
34:06
organiser, Dr. Prakash, who actually approached us.
34:11
He, again, reminded the devotees of that, you
34:15
know, fateful day when that elephant, the live
34:19
elephant, was so distressed and so sick and
34:22
tired of being mistreated that he ran amok
34:25
and he gored the handler.
34:27
And that's when he decided we will never,
34:29
ever do this to an elephant or cause
34:33
any harm to the people.
34:34
And so it's that kind of determination from,
34:37
you know, a leadership level that has also
34:40
helped.
34:40
And we continue to collaborate.
34:42
I continue to, you know, give them my
34:44
short films so that they can screen them
34:47
in the temples whenever they want so they
34:49
can educate the employees regarding the beautifully sensitive
34:54
and highly intelligent creatures these animals are and
34:57
that they deserve to be in the wild
34:59
and not in captivity.
35:01
So I think the message is getting out
35:03
there.
35:03
It's a combination of a you can't just
35:07
say, OK, I don't want you to use
35:09
these elephants in the cultural celebrations.
35:12
We offered an alternative.
35:14
So that was number one.
35:15
Number two is, OK, well, now we have
35:17
an alternative.
35:17
But, hmm, you know, they're kind of sitting
35:20
and thinking exactly what you suggested.
35:22
This is not a live elephant.
35:24
We cannot touch and feel.
35:25
But yes, they can touch and feel this
35:27
elephant.
35:27
You can see the fascination of all of
35:30
these people.
35:31
They're taking selfies and their little kids that
35:35
used to be terrified of going close to
35:37
the elephants are now falling in love with
35:38
these elephants.
35:39
This way, you could even nurture and cultivate
35:42
empathy, love, compassion for these beautiful animals and
35:46
indeed all animals.
35:47
So it's again, like you said, it's a
35:49
win win situation.
35:50
Tell us about this image taken minutes ago
35:53
in India that was just texted to you.
35:56
Yeah, thank you.
35:57
Yeah, this one was this is our amazing
36:00
elephant called Shankar Hariharan.
36:03
And there is a special event going on
36:07
in southern India, actually across India.
36:09
It's called Shivaratri.
36:11
And if many of you may have heard
36:13
or not have heard about Lord Shiva, it
36:15
is his birthday.
36:17
He is considered to be very, very strong,
36:20
but in a very peaceful manner.
36:23
Like he's not the aggressive kind of strong
36:27
people that think that being aggressive and being
36:30
a bully is being strong.
36:32
No, but this Lord Shiva, through peace, like
36:36
even when people attacked him, even when snakes
36:38
came near him, even when the folklore goes
36:41
that even when tigers came next to him,
36:44
they were so touched by his peace and
36:47
calm that they settled next to him.
36:49
So it's a huge celebration.
36:51
And the image that you shared earlier was
36:54
that they were parading Shankar Hariharan on the
36:59
streets of Gudalur, right next to this Sivan
37:04
Kovil, which is like Shiva temple.
37:06
And the organiser, he actually called me live.
37:10
And he's like, just watch this elephant.
37:13
Look, our elephant has been paraded.
37:15
And I just went crazy clicking on my
37:17
iPhone, all of the screenshots.
37:19
And I'm so happy that you could use
37:21
them.
37:21
Yeah, it was just really touching to see,
37:23
you know, that the elephant that we donated
37:27
last year is still being put to proper
37:30
use.
37:31
This is like really, really heartwarming.
37:34
And it's really fascinating because we were getting
37:37
ready to do this show and Sangeeta said,
37:40
I'm going to text you some images from
37:42
India.
37:43
I got just minutes ago, like 30 seconds
37:46
ago, try to put them up.
37:48
And I said, okay.
37:49
And I managed to get these two shots.
37:51
She sent me about 18 shots.
37:52
I managed to get these two up right
37:54
before we started, but look at this robotic
37:57
elephant in the streets of India being surrounded
38:01
by people.
38:02
You can't tell that it's a robot elephant
38:05
from this distance.
38:07
And it's even hard to tell very close
38:09
up.
38:10
So, you know, I think this is so
38:13
fascinating.
38:14
And the fact that they only cost $10
38:16
,000, it's shocking to me.
38:18
I would have thought you'd say $100,000.
38:21
$10,000 is very, very cost-effective for
38:25
something like this with moving ears, with moving
38:30
eyes, with the actual elephant moving, the moving
38:34
trunks.
38:36
My mind is blown.
38:39
And again, if you want to donate to
38:42
make one of these happen, we're trying to
38:45
get one elephant out of the show, one
38:47
robot elephant, you can donate to vfaes.org
38:52
forward slash donate.
38:53
That's Voices for Asian Elephant Society.org.
38:57
And they have very low overhead, huge, overwhelming
39:02
amount of everything they raise goes right into
39:05
these robotic elephants and similar projects.
39:09
And I just think it's absolutely fascinating.
39:12
Congratulations.
39:14
People are saying, cannot tell, this is genius.
39:17
Wow, this is amazing.
39:21
It's, you know, it's so much better than
39:23
the alternative, which is so cruel and backward.
39:27
I mean, let's face it, India is known
39:31
for being on the forefront of technology.
39:35
And so I would think it would be
39:37
a point of pride to say, look at
39:40
the high-tech methods that we're using.
39:43
That's got to be another selling point, Sangeeta.
39:46
Indeed.
39:46
And so the thing is, the irony of
39:49
it all is that they love technology, but
39:51
when it comes to really implementing technology in
39:55
terms of cultural celebrations, some of these elephant
39:58
owners are still resisting.
40:00
But I mean, obviously we are seeing the
40:03
temples embracing this opportunity and this option and
40:07
the technology.
40:09
And so I think it'll get to a
40:11
point where the elephant owners will begin to
40:14
realise that there's no point in actually owning
40:18
the elephants.
40:19
Let's leave them in the wild.
40:20
This is where they belong.
40:22
And, you know, there are times that I,
40:24
when I have the social media conversations with
40:27
people who comment and stuff like that, I
40:29
say, you know what?
40:31
We all love technology and India, like you
40:34
said, is like in the forefront, on the
40:36
forefront of technology.
40:38
And the worst thing is that you don't
40:41
use the knowledge that you have to serve
40:43
the collective good and to ensure that nobody
40:46
is harmed.
40:47
This includes the animals as well.
40:49
You know, they have the best cell phones,
40:51
the best selfies that they take, all kinds
40:54
of incredible things.
40:56
Right.
40:56
And they've been to the moon recently, just
40:58
last year.
40:59
So there are scientists and technology is so
41:02
highly evolving drastically in India.
41:06
And it's about time, you know, that they
41:08
embraced the culture and there's this merging of
41:13
culture and technology that can bring forth harmony,
41:17
compassion, love, and peace of mind for people
41:20
and for the elephants.
41:24
And get rid of the horror of elephants
41:27
in captivity.
41:29
Never take an elephant ride.
41:32
Never, ever, ever.
41:34
And let's talk about one other thing that
41:36
you're doing that is really fascinating.
41:39
Again, another high-tech solution to a big
41:42
problem in India.
41:44
And that is many, many elephants are killed
41:47
by trains because they're traversing and the trains
41:51
are coming at them.
41:52
You've created this high-tech EleSense elephant alerting
41:57
system.
41:58
Tell us about that.
42:00
Yeah, it's beautiful.
42:01
And it's an AI-based technology.
42:03
And I can tell you that between January
42:06
2023 and December of 2024, we have averted
42:11
1139 train collisions with elephants.
42:17
And in West Bengal, there's been absolutely no
42:20
train collision deaths of elephants since we have
42:24
installed, especially in this particular region.
42:27
So we are now in the process of
42:28
expanding it in the Chapramati Wildlife Sanctuary because
42:33
the sad reality is India is the most
42:36
densely populated country on the planet with 19
42:40
% of the world's human population in India.
42:44
And so space is a very sacred commodity
42:48
and the competition for space is rampant between
42:51
people and animals, two dominant species.
42:55
And so humans are encroaching into the wild
42:58
habitat and they're building train tracks, roadways and
43:04
railways and all kinds of structures inside the
43:07
wildlife sanctuary, which is the home of these
43:10
elephants.
43:11
Electrical wires cutting through the forest and they
43:14
sometimes drop down because of thunderstorm, rainfall and
43:18
everything.
43:18
And so many elephants are getting killed.
43:20
So we decided, no, we've got to implement
43:23
some high tech technology here.
43:25
So this is again, artificial intelligence-based technology
43:29
grounded in four components.
43:32
Number one is that this alert system can
43:35
detect the temperature, the height, the pattern and
43:38
the movement.
43:39
These are the four components that this EleSense
43:42
can detect.
43:43
As soon as it detects it, that's what
43:45
it does.
43:46
It sends out that message saying, oh, elephant
43:48
movement has been tracked.
43:50
And that message is dispersed to everybody, including
43:55
our team, the railway department, the forest department
43:58
and the tea plantation owners and all of
44:02
the relevant stakeholders.
44:04
So when the railway department gets this information,
44:08
what they then do is they send a
44:10
walkie talkie message to the train pilots and
44:14
the train pilot then slows down and allows
44:17
these elephants to cross over.
44:20
We have so many camera trap images that
44:22
I'll share with you soon that we have
44:26
captured recently of elephants crossing over the train
44:29
tracks and the train halted in a distance.
44:34
And it's just really heartwarming to see that
44:35
we are harnessing technology to see these tangible
44:39
outcomes and thus save elephants.
44:43
Hundreds of elephants get killed on the train
44:45
tracks every single year.
44:48
These are like completely senseless tragedies that can
44:51
be totally avoided.
44:53
And so, yeah, it's really heartwarming to see
44:56
the results.
44:57
1,139 train collisions with elephants have been
45:02
averted since January 2024 and sorry, January 2023
45:09
and December 2024.
45:11
Absolutely amazing what you're doing for elephants in
45:15
India.
45:16
I would like to see it expanded globally
45:19
to other animals in other parts of the
45:24
world.
45:24
I know you're also doing something to stop
45:28
elephants from falling into water wells, which happens
45:32
and you're building like basically a block around
45:37
the well so that the elephants can't fall
45:39
in.
45:40
And the same thing is happening to donkeys
45:42
in another part of the world.
45:44
I saw it online and I was going
45:46
to contact you.
45:47
I mean, all your incredible practical ideas need
45:51
to spread around the world to other species.
45:54
But getting back to elephants, you know, sometimes
45:59
people say, well, you're attacking a culture.
46:01
No, there's plenty of cruelty directed at elephants
46:05
and other animals right here in the United
46:06
States.
46:07
Let's take a look at the world famous
46:10
singer actress Cher and what she had to
46:13
say about one particular elephant.
46:20
Billy the elephant has been at the LA
46:23
Zoo for 33 years.
46:27
He lives in constant pain and anguish.
46:29
It was seeing Billy suffer that made me
46:35
want to help him.
46:39
The LA Zoo claims that they're taking good
46:41
care of Billy and the other elephants, but
46:44
the truth reveals a very dark and different
46:47
reality.
46:48
We invite the LA Zoo on anytime to
46:51
comment on what Cher and other critics have
46:53
said.
46:54
And I actually contacted an attorney who's been
46:57
involved in litigation attempts, unsuccessful thus far, to
47:01
get Billy out and said, hey, have you
47:04
heard about these robotic elephants?
47:06
And he has said that he has offered
47:08
the robotic elephant concept to zoos here, there
47:12
and everywhere and has not heard a positive
47:14
response.
47:16
So, you know, that's sad because that would
47:19
be a solution to elephants trapped in zoos
47:22
as well, Sangeeta.
47:24
Absolutely.
47:25
And that, I mean, it's, they can even
47:27
use the robotic elephant for elephant back rides.
47:30
I mean, which child would not want to
47:33
climb up this robotic elephant and touch the
47:35
year and see the eye movement?
47:37
It can be used for elephant back rides
47:40
in Thailand, which is where it is rampant.
47:42
And even in India, you know, and they
47:45
can actually get these people to sit on
47:48
their, on the elephant back if that's all
47:50
they want, because this is a life size
47:52
elephant.
47:53
The elephant that we gave was like 10
47:55
feet tall.
47:56
He's 10 feet tall, this guy, you know,
47:59
and so it's, it can be used as
48:02
an alternative in every situation, including the zoos,
48:06
including circuses, even.
48:08
Oh, can I tell you, they in Spain,
48:11
they have actually replaced live elephants with the
48:15
robotic elephants designed by the same designer who
48:19
made our elephant.
48:20
And he, he actually created three solid elephants
48:23
for the Spanish circus in Spain and his
48:29
elephants are displayed at the airports in Bangalore
48:33
airport in Dubai, in all of these Middle
48:36
Eastern places where there are so many people
48:39
from Kerala that live there.
48:41
It's just becoming really a global phenomenon and
48:45
it's, it's, yeah, it's really, really, it's really
48:48
good to see positive changes.
48:50
It's just not fast enough for all of
48:52
us.
48:52
Of course not.
48:54
We'd like to see it all end, but
48:56
you know, sometimes we have to have patience.
49:00
I say that to myself when I start
49:02
new projects and I want payoff immediately.
49:05
I want to see animals saved like yesterday
49:08
when I start a project.
49:10
And then I have to remember, Jane, you
49:12
have to learn patience.
49:13
You can't just expect it to be an
49:17
event.
49:18
It's a process and it's starting.
49:20
The process is the most important part.
49:23
You have, how many of these elephants do
49:26
you now have?
49:27
So this is only our second one.
49:29
And this year we are planning to give
49:31
away three more in October.
49:34
So that we are just trying to enhance
49:36
because we need money, right?
49:38
For everything.
49:38
We are a small organisation and without the
49:41
money, we cannot provide this.
49:44
And so all of those people who came
49:46
up with those brilliant ideas to donate money,
49:48
I am more than happy to meet with
49:51
them on a Zoom call.
49:53
We can all get together on a Zoom
49:54
call.
49:55
And if you have any questions, I would
49:57
be more than happy to answer, you know,
50:00
and I can even share with you some
50:02
of the intricacies in terms of how the
50:05
temples operate, what is going on, why is
50:08
change so difficult?
50:10
So this way your questions will be answered
50:12
one-on-one.
50:13
I'm more than happy to do that.
50:15
Just send us an email to support at
50:19
vfaes.org.
50:22
And you can even contact Jane directly, whatever
50:25
you want.
50:26
I mean, Jane is the one who launched
50:28
all of this for us.
50:29
So if she wants to take the lead,
50:31
by all means, go for it.
50:33
I just, I interview a lot of groups
50:35
and I, what I love about your organisation
50:38
is that it's practical solutions for specific problems.
50:43
And so you're drilling down on very specific
50:47
things.
50:47
We only have a couple of minutes.
50:49
Tell us very briefly about your wildlife corridors.
50:53
Wow.
50:54
I'm so excited to share with you about
50:56
the wildlife corridors.
50:57
So let me explain to you quickly what
50:59
corridors are.
51:01
Forests are being broken up into tiny patches,
51:03
because as I said, railways are cutting through
51:05
the forest, roadways are cutting through the forest.
51:08
So these forests are being broken up into
51:10
forest patches and even homes and settlements and
51:13
everything.
51:14
So what we are doing is we are
51:16
purchasing plots of land, which we just donated
51:19
another, like a four acre plot of land
51:22
to the Kerala forest department just in 2024,
51:26
March, which has now been officially transferred to
51:30
the forest department.
51:31
And this corridor, even though it seems like
51:34
only four acres, it's a significant corridor for
51:37
elephant movement.
51:38
So they can come from this patch to
51:41
this patch, but they can move peacefully because
51:43
there are no obstacles on their way.
51:47
And so there are 340 plus elephants living
51:50
in that area where we bought the four
51:52
acre plot of land.
51:53
And we're going to continue to expand that
51:55
project in Odisha.
51:57
And I'll have something to share with Jane
51:59
sometime in the future.
52:01
I cannot share much more than that right
52:03
now, but it's so exciting.
52:05
And these patches of land, we are not
52:08
only purchasing, but we're also rewilding.
52:11
We are planting saplings and creating water holes
52:14
in Odisha on the forest lands, elephant-friendly
52:17
saplings like jackfruit, mangoes, and whatever things that
52:22
elephants love.
52:23
Everything elephant, right?
52:24
We plant those things and we have the
52:26
tribal people.
52:28
We employ 200 tribal people in order to
52:31
take care of these plantations, water them, nurture
52:33
them, et cetera.
52:34
And so when these plantations come to maturity,
52:38
then elephants will have regular fruits and regular,
52:42
you know, these are fruit yielding trees.
52:45
And so we are doing that.
52:46
We're employing people.
52:48
People are happy.
52:49
And now they're more into conservation.
52:51
They're like, Ooh, if we protect elephants, guess
52:53
what?
52:54
We're also going to get paid.
52:55
So that's the kind of approach we are
52:57
taking rather than vilify them.
52:59
We are trying to partner with them, bring
53:02
them together.
53:02
And collectively we are, we are making a
53:05
difference.
53:06
And I'm really excited about returning to India
53:08
on March the 21st.
53:12
And I will share something with you via
53:14
WhatsApp and you can share it with your
53:16
public.
53:18
Wow.
53:18
You are doing so much.
53:20
I am so impressed.
53:21
And it also, you know, it inspires me
53:24
because you're hitting the finish line.
53:25
You're getting something done.
53:26
Like it's not just a proposal.
53:29
These robotic elephants are going into the temples.
53:33
You are putting these high-tech elephant warning
53:37
signals on the train track, saving elephant lives.
53:41
You are creating these moats that prevent elephants
53:44
from falling into the wells and you are
53:47
creating these wildlife corridors.
53:49
So it's a win, win, win, win.
53:51
And I just want to tell everybody support
53:52
Voices for Asian Elephant Society.
53:56
And it's come back because you always have
53:59
great, great information.
54:01
There it is, vfaes.org forward slash donate.
54:06
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54:07
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54:10
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54:57
Okay.
54:58
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54:59
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