Elephants wed at Indian beach resort to amuse tourists

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2006

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India (AFP) — Two captive elephants were dressed up as bride and groom for a mock-wedding ceremony to amuse guests at a beach resort in southern India, hotel staff said. The "wedding" took place Sunday evening -- billed as an auspicious night for Hindu marriages -- at a resort in the coastal town of Kovalam, a popular tourist destination in Kerala state.

"It was altogether a different experience. I will remember it forever," said British guest Claire Abel from Liverpool on Monday. But one activist questioned whether the captive elephants were being treated properly. "Greedy owners exploit the captive elephants for making money and they don't feed them properly," said Renjith Devarajan of the Elephant Lovers Club. The groom was a 12-year-old elephant...