Padayappa also known as Munnar Padayappa is a wild elephant in
Munnar
Munnar () is a town and hill station in the Idukki district of the southwestern Indian state of Kerala. Munnar is situated at around above mean sea level, in the Western Ghats mountain range. Munnar is also called the "Kashmir of South Indi ...
in the Indian state of
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
, known for its frequent appearances in residential areas. Padayappa, who occasionally roams on populated areas and creates traffic blocks on highways, does not harass or become aggressive. The elephant's frequent visit to populated areas and cities as opposed to usual wild elephants and its calm nature caused it to attract wider media attention. Padayappa can be easily spotted because of his limp due to an injury on his hind leg and his unusually long tusks. It is named after the character in the 1999 Tamil film ''
Padayappa
''Padayappa'' is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language masala film written and directed by K. S. Ravikumar. It stars Sivaji Ganesan, Rajinikanth, Ramya Krishnan and Soundarya with Abbas, Lakshmi, Radha Ravi and Nassar playing supporting roles. The soun ...
''. The elephant is identified by its name Padayappa even in the forest department circles. Padayappa came to the media's notice in 2015, when the elephant discovered a sackful of carrots that the shopkeepers had hidden from it by the riverside. Only after eating all the carrots did it head into the forests without attacking anyone. On 5 April 2022, Padayappa jumped in front of a KSRTC bus coming to Munnar. The driver stopped the bus and the elephant checked the bus with its trunk, scratching the window glass with its tusks. The driver sped off in the vehicle when Padayappa moved back a little.
"Wild elephant 'Padayappa' in front of KSRTC bus, driver quickly turns and escapes
"Kerala Kaumudi", 05 April 2022
See also
* List of individual elephants
*Abul-Abbas, Charlemagne's elephant
* Arjuna, lead elephant of the Mysore Dasara procession and carries the idol of the deity Chamundeshwari on the Golden Howdah
*Balarama, preceded Arjuna (see above); Golden Howdah-carrier between 1999 and 2011
...
* Elephants in Kerala culture
Elephants found in Kerala, the Indian elephants (''Elephas maximus indicus''), are one of three recognized subspecies of the Asian elephant. Since 1986, Asian elephants have been listed as endangered by IUCN as the population has declined by at ...
* Arikomban
References
{{reflist
Elephants in Kerala
Individual elephants in India