'The Elephant Whisperers' couple to raise another orphaned calf

The calf's mother was electrocuted in Dharmapuri district

Bomman and Bellie, the couple who shot to fame after they were featured in the Oscar-winning short film The Elephant Whisperers, will now raise another orphaned calf whose mother elephant was electrocuted in Dharmapuri district at the Theppakadu elephant camp in Mudumalai, Tamil Nadu.

Bomman, a trained mahout who works with the elephant camp in Mudumalai, and his wife Bellie have been asked by the Forest Department to be foster parents for the orphaned jumbo. The decision came after the efforts to reunite the calf with its herd in Dharmapuri failed.

Bomman, who was involved in the efforts to reunite the calf with the herd, and Bellie will now raise the calf. The couple’s love for Raghu, a calf which was orphaned and given to them, formed the core of the short-film which won Oscars.

Also Read | 'The Elephant Whisperers' director gets Rs 1 crore cash prize from Tamil Nadu govt

“We are happy that we have been given another calf to raise. I was involved in the efforts to reunite the calf with its herd, but we couldn’t. Now, we have brought the calf to the Theppakadu camp. All the calf now does is to drink milk and sleep well,” Bomman told DH.

Bomman and Bellie had to hand over the calf temporarily to another person for a few days to participate in a felicitation ceremony organised for the short film’s Oscar win. “We have reached Theppakadu today and we will start tending to the calf. It will take a few months for the calf to understand our commands and bond with us,” he added.

On their way back from Mumbai to Coimbatore, the couple were given a rousing welcome on the IndiGo flight they travelled.

Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary, Environment and Forests, wrote on Twitter: “The Circle of life continues #TheElephantsWhisperers Bomman & Bellie are now foster parents to another orphaned baby elephant from Dharmapuri, now in #Mudumalai after Team #TNForest tried its best to reunite the 4 months old calf with herd. We are happy he is in safe hands.”

Bomman and Bellie dedicated years together in raising Raghu, an orphaned elephant calf which was brought to Theppakadu in 2017 after his mother elephant died due to electrocution in Krishnagiri district. The documentary, which won Oscars on Monday, captured the bonding and love shared between jumbos and humans who make huge sacrifices in their personal lives to raise the elephants, especially those separated from their mother.

Bellie had to tend to the calves even when her daughter was struggling for her life at a hospital after setting herself ablaze as they couldn’t leave them alone. By the time they reached, her daughter had passed away. Bellie, who has had a troubled past after she lost her first husband to a tiger attack, married Bomman over a decade ago.

Theppakadu Elephant Camp, which was established in 1917 by the British regime, currently houses 28 camp elephants, including those jumbos captured and rescued by the Forest Department.