A captive elephant went out of control and caused widespread damage in a town in South India.

The elephant named V. Ganapathi owned by Kalimuthi temple in Kuzhalmannam in Kerala broke its chain and went on a rampage on April 18.

It attacked homes and damaged parked vehicles. Temple officials warned people in the streets who ran to safety.

A team of mahouts battled for over three hours to get the elephant back in control.

A temple official said the elephant had possibly entered its ''musth period'', a periodic phase when they experience a surge in testosterone and turn very aggressive.

''We are establishing the exact sequence of events that led to the incident,'' he said.

Animal rights activists say captive elephants in India are overworked for financial gains and often not taken care of properly. This stresses the elephants and makes many of them aggressive, say activists.