Narayanan, the elephant with its overgrown tusks.

KOCHI: Narayanan has a problem. The 40-year-old elephant, owned by the Cochin Devaswom Board, has over-grown tusks. These impede its free movement and make it difficult for it to move its trunk. And, the growth is continuing, with the two tusks tending to converge. The Board wanted to trim them, but it needed mandatory clearance from the State Forest Department for such a procedure, and the Department was not easily convinced.

The Board had trimmed the tusks of two its elephants — Govindan and Sreeraman — in April on the advice of veterinarians, said M. A. Krishnanunni, president of the Devaswom Board. But in the case of Narayanan the plans were dropped as the Department objected.

However, according to Mr. Krishnanunni, the State Government has now given the Board permission to go ahead with the exercise. The Board will now arrange to do the trimming, and the Forest Department will be informed about it, he said.

The Cochin Devaswom Board, which administers temples in the region, has 12 elephants, three of which are housed near the Sree Poornathrayeesa temple at Tripunithura near here.

However, V. Gopinath, Chief Conservator of Forest (Wild Life), said the Board had not approached the Department for permission. He said such permission would be given on receipt of an application. Clearance has been made mandatory in order to prevent the misuse of tusks, especially by private owners of elephants, he said.

The Wild Life Protection Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) has banned the trade in tusks. India is a signatory to CITES.

Kerala has hundreds of elephants that belong to temples and to private individuals.

An elephant's tusks are actually its upper incisors, the only incisors it has. They are meant to be used mainly for foraging, ripping the bark of trees, digging, resting a heavy trunk, and as weapons.