Ahmedabad School Visited by Asia’s First Empathy-Building Animatronic Elephant, Voiced by Actor Dia Mirza, Courtesy of PETA India

Students at Udgam School for Children were treated to a special visit from a stunningly realistic life-size mechanical elephant named Ellie, voiced by actor Dia Mirza, as PETA India launched an empathy-building tour of schools in Ahmedabad. Ellie will interact with thousands of local students, blinking her eyes and flapping her ears just like a real elephant as she tells children an age-appropriate story about the trauma of being separated from her mother as a baby, the abuse she endured in a circus, and finally, her happy life at a sanctuary after her rescue.

“Mechanical elephant Ellie helped the children understand elephants are deeply intelligent, social, and emotional beings who belong in nature with their families, not in confinement, chained or beaten. We were delighted to have Ellie in our school to sensitise our students about the importance of having empathy for animals.”

– Manan Chokshi, Executive Director, Udgam School for Children

Captive elephants used for entertainment are often abducted from their families and jungle homes, beaten into submission, and jabbed with ankuses – heavy batons with sharp steel tips – to control them through pain and fear. Many develop abnormal behaviour after years of strict confinement, and they are rarely given adequate food, water, or veterinary care.

Since May 2023, Ellie has reached almost 68,000 young learners at various private, public, international, and government schools across India, sharing the message that elephants shouldn’t be used in circuses or for rides or other cruel events. She’ll now be visiting thousands of students at Jamnabai Narsee School, Ananda Global School, Mahatma Gandhi International School, Little Millennium, Zebar School for Children, Riverside School, Calorx Olive International School, and many others in Ahmedabad, Surat, and Vadodara.

PETA India also runs a free humane education programme, Compassionate Citizen, designed to help school students aged 8 to 12 years better understand and appreciate animals. It has been used by over 2 lakh schools and reached approximately 9.2 crore children across India.

Ellie will be in Ahmedabad from 04 April to 25 April 2024. Educators who would like Ellie to visit their schools can write to Meenakshi Narang at [email protected].