When science and religion come together: Indian temple unveils realistic robot elephant. Watch it here!

A temple in the southern Indian state of Kerala has taken a revolutionary step by introducing a robot elephant to do religious rituals. This move towards holding religious events in a "cruelty-free manner" comes after years of concerns by animal activists. As per a BBC report, the mechanical robot has been donated to the Irinjadappilly Sree Krishna Temple in Thrissur district by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India and actress Parvathy Thiruvothu. The robot, which is made of an iron frame, is 11 feet tall and weighs 800 kg. The initiative is reportedly part of a pledge to stop using live animals for festivities.

Animal welfare organisations have for years flagged the "cruel" treatment temple animals face. Just last week, the Centre for Research on Animal Rights wrote to Kerala's chief minister regarding the increasing mortality of captive elephants in the state.

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The letter alleged that between 2018 and 2023, the mortality of the large mammal increased significantly, with over138 captive elephantsdying over the period of five years.

"It's high time we made stronger and more impactful strides towards stopping such abuse and letting animals have respectful and dignified lives," said the organisation.

Take a look at the realistic robot elephant here:

Rajkumar Namboothiri, a priest at the temple while talking to Indian Express newspaper, said that they were happy with the donation.

"We hope other temples will also think about replacing elephants with robotic elephants for their rituals," he said.

However, not everyone is happy with the step. Some people on Twitter were quick to label it an experiment with Hindu culture. Others hailed the move. As one user put it, "who says science and religion cannot come together?"

(With inputs from agencies)

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