PATHANAMTHITTA: Konni Elephant Camp, one of the major tourist spots in Pathanamthitta, is set to get a major facelift. Among a slew of new projects at the camp is also a 3D theatre. It is expected to give tourists who arrive here, which includes a number of children, a unique experience by taking them on a virtual wildlife trip while also educating them on the importance and need to protect wildlife.
The theatre will also exhibit short videos on how an abandoned baby elephant finds its way to the camp and how it will be looked after.
“We have identified the building for the theatre on the camp’s premises. The project is awaiting technical sanction. We hope to begin work on the theatre before the monsoon,” said Konni DFO Ayush Kumar Kori.
The expected cost of the theatre is around Rs 25-30 lakhs.
Konni camp is a major revenue generator for the Forest Department. It has six elephants - Kochayyappan, 1; Krishna, 9; Meena, 31; Priyadarshini, 38; Eva, 20; and Konni Neelakandan, 25.
Priyadarshini, the eldest jumbo, was brought to the camp in 1992 after the Forest Department got her from Palakuzhy in Konni. Konni Neelakandan - a Kumki elephant (trained captive jumbo) - was brought to the camp from Kodanad. The department got nine-year-old Krishna from Kuttappara in Thiruvananthapuram in 2014.
Baby elephant Kochayyappan is the camp’s main attraction. The calf, which fell into a canal near the Kochandi checkpost within the Goodrical forest range in Ranni, was rescued by the officials on August 19, 2021.
Besides the 3D theatre, several more projects are in the pipeline at the Konni camp. Eleven projects worth Rs 45 lakhs under the ecotourism project have already received approval.