The Kedda System

The Khedda System of Catching Wild Elephants

by Vikas Kamat
Pictures Courtesy: Corbis
First Online: May 05, 2003
Page Last Updated: February 17, 2024

The Khedda system was a technique used in southern India to capture and tame wild elephants for domestic and public (like in temples, in military) use. An elaborate trap consisting of ten to twenty deep ditches, covered lightly with leaves and branches. The herd of wild elephants then was encircled with men, tamed elephants and driven to the trap with the help of loud noise and disturbance.

Once the mighty elephants fell into the trap, they were starved and injured and rendered weak. Then with the help of already tamed elephants, the untamed ones were approached, chained, and taken for training.

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS 

Men Taming a Wild Elephant

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS 

A Khedda Operation in Progress

© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS 

Elephants in a Khedda Captivity

For further study:

• The Jaganmohan Palace Museum in the city of Mysore  has an exhibit of photographs of a grand Khedda operation from the late 19th century.

• Sanderson, G.P., AnAccount of the Mode of Capturing and Taming Elephants, W.H. Allen & Co, 1896