The elephant, Guruvayur Peethambaran, which triggered trouble causing a stampede leading to the loss of three human lives on February 13 during the Manakulangara temple festival in Koyilandy, was in musth, a condition generally associated with violent behaviour and a spurt in energy, according to the Forest department's probe report. The Kerala captive elephants (management and maintenance) rules clearly say that no elephants in musth shall be used in connection with festivals. This has to be ensured by the District committee.

Three people died, and over thirty were injured after the elephants ran amok on the final day of the festival. A ritual (sheeveli) was underway when crackers burst, throwing Peethambaran into a fit of rage, and it shoved the other elephant, Guruvayur Gokul. The elephant leaned onto an old building where many women had assembled to witness the rituals. The wall of the structure crumbled, and many people were caught under the rubble.

The report notes that the District monitoring committee of captive elephants sanctioned permission for using four elephants for procession based on the report of the Range Forest officer. The probe by the Forest department has revealed that the clearance was given based on the fitness certificate given by the veterinarian. Besides, Peethambaran is known for his temperament of attacking other elephants previously and the mahouts, in their statements, said that Peethambaran gets irritated by the sounds of fireworks and they had requested temple authorities that if any such item of firework is included in the festival, it should be informed them prior, so that they can properly tie the elephant, according to the probe report submitted by R Keerthi, Conservator of Forests(Social Forestry), Kozhikode.

As part of the investigation, blood samples of both elephants, which were brought for the procession at Koyilandy temple, were collected to test the presence of testosterone, which is a sign of musth. The Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO), Kozhikode, in the report stated that while Guruvayur Gokul's testosterone levels were in the non-musth range, Peethambaran had levels that were in the musth range.

During the festival, Peethambaran charged at Gokul and the elephant was pushed to the side of the old building, which collapsed, and crackers burst continuously on the premises. The report by the CVO says that testosterone levels alone cannot be a confirmatory indicator of musth in elephants, and this needs to be corroborated with the presence of physical and behavioural evidence.

Onmanorama spoke to a few veterinarians who said that the primary assessment of musth can be confirmed by spotting glandular engorgement, and checking testosterone levels is the secondary assessment. The experts said that musth is also considered a factor in determining the fitness of an elephant. Given the violent temperament of Peethambaran, previous history of aggression towards other elephants, evident signs of musth and rules disallowing the parading of elephants in musth, it is still unclear as to how the veterinarian issued a fitness certificate for the elephant for the temple procession. Senior forest officials said that it was a blatant violation and a clear case of serious oversight.

When an elephant is in musth, there will be an enlargement of the temporal glands, and the animal is easily irritable, mischievous and sometimes aggressive and does not obey the mahouts and may show a tendency to run away from the tethering place. A brown-coloured, foul-smelling paste-like secretion escapes through the opening of the semi-engorged temporal gland when massaged, according to an article on musth in elephants authored by Dr Deepa Ananth, Associate Professor at the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences. Dr Deepa said that an enlarged gland is a clear sign of musth in elephants.

V K Venkitachalam, Secretary of the Heritage Animal task force, said that a blood test to confirm must have been conducted before the issuance of the fitness certificate.