During the first ten months of 2014, as many as 24 captive elephants and 92 wild elephants have died in the state. The main reason for death in the case of captive elephants is torture, and in the case of wild elephants it’s the cruelty of the forest mafia. Elephant is an endangered species included in Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. The animals included in Schedule 1 need high level of protection. The Wildlife Protection Act, the Kerala Captive Elephants Rules of 2003 and the amendments to the rules in 2012 prohibit unskilled mahouts from handling captive elephants, making them walk on tarred roads between 11 am and 3 pm and transporting them in trucks for more than five hours without a break to ensure the welfare of captive elephants.
— source downtoearth.org.in