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ShivaFan
24 April 2012, 11:15 PM
When the Gods and Demons churned the Ocean of Milk in search of amrita nectar which can give immortality, jewels and living treasures and Gods came out. One of the jewels was an elephant called Airavata taken by Indra.

Kaani tribe people in the rainforest of Peppara in Kerala, India, have told the story for centuries of a pygmy elephant which is called Kallana which means “stone elephant” i.e. Kallu meaning stone and aana meaning elephant in Malayalam – a tiny elephant which grows to the maximum height of only five feet and is adept at living in the higher altitudes on rocky terrain. These pygmy elephants can run about on top of the stones and can also run very fast.

Of course the Kallana Pygmy Elephant was called a myth by the West, even though a dwarf elephant has been scientifically proven as a unique sub species in Borneo through DNA analysis.

On March 17, 2010, a photographer named Ajantha Benny and a member of the Kanitribe called Mallan took a picture of the tiny, very long tailed Kallana in Marakappara and the Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary near Thiruvananthapuram. It is not a baby Asian elephant, in fact from the ribs it has been determined to be an elderly adult:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BGxonGhbZ8s/S-T_g433ZuI/AAAAAAAAAEg/itSFhkibcMg/s320/3446480545_kallana%5B1%5D.jpg
http://www.iisc.ernet.in/currsci/may10/may10images/1205.gif
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SQwGjNmCYWQ/TL25hQOviKI/AAAAAAAAAVI/_3PtpQeMnPU/s1600/neyyar_map%5B1%5D.jpg

Here is a photo from Jan 18, 2005 in the Hindu taken in the same area by wildlife photographer Sali Palode and Kani tribesmanMannan:
http://www.hindu.com/2005/01/19/images/2005011906770401.jpg

Ina market area in front of a temple in Travancore is a carved stone elephant thelocals call Kallana. It has been therefor untold decades, centuries:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gKW5M57qNNM/TuJks4S847I/AAAAAAAAARE/bdbokkFOYdo/s400/aa.jpg






This elephant exists in my opinion, and it is associated with temple protection in South India. This is a very special elephant. I pray that the world protects it, saves it,and that yet another mystery of the world is proven to be true. India is full of marvels, mystery, holy places and places of great importance to the entire world. And in Her jungles, there lives the soul of all humans, it is found in the jungles, and the animals know of it. We are little jiva souls, God lives everywhere and God lives in the jungles. And in the heart of this littlest of elephants!

Jai Ganesha!

Mana
24 April 2012, 11:25 PM
Namaste Brian,

Thank you for your beautiful posting, it brought tears to my eyes! What a fantastic creature; how lovely to learn of its existence.

praNAma

mana

Believer
19 August 2012, 09:50 AM
Namaste,

That indeed is a beautiful creature! Thanks.

Pranam.