Thechikkottukavu Ramachandran (born c. 1964) is an Indian elephant owned by Thechikottukavu devasom, a temple in Kerala.^[1] Commonly known as simply Raman, he is the tallest living captive elephant in Asia, standing at 314 cm (10 ft 3+1⁄2 in).^[2] they gave Ramachandran the title Ekachatradhipathi (transl. The Only Emperor).^[3]

The partly blind elephant plays a key role in several Pooram festivals. In 2018, 50,000 spectators gathered to watch Ramachandran kickstart Thrissur Pooram at Thrissur's Vadakkumnathan temple.^[4] However, he has been banned from public display on multiple occasions.^[5][6][7]

Due to Ramachandran's popularity, temples in Kerala have wanted him to carry God's idol during temple festivals to attract a crowd. He had previously been banned by the authorities for causing the deaths of 13 to 15 people and at least three other elephants. People close to Ramachandran claimed that the elephant never killed people intentionally, but accidentally. The ban was lifted and Ramachandran was allowed to continue participating in festivals. Both the elephant and his mahouts have been subjected to criticism by the media and other elephant owners. In 2015, an attempt was reportedly made to kill Ramachandran by mixing blades in its feed.^[8]

Since 2011, Ramchandran has performed the Poora Vilambaram in the Thrissur Pooram, the largest Pooram festival. He pushes open the south entrance gate of the Vadakkunnathan Temple, marking the beginning of the religious festival. After a 2019 incident in which Ramachandran trampled two people to death, the animal was banned from being paraded at temple festivals after a panel of medical experts deemed it medically unfit. The elephant was given conditional permission to participate in Thrissur Pooram on 11 May 2019, after a team of three veterinarians had the elephant pass a fitness test and conducted a medical examination.^[9]

• List of individual elephants