Mahouts in Theppakadu elephant camp get houses in Tamil Nadu

Chennai: The Elephant Whisperers, the Oscar-award winning documentary, vividly brought out the love that mahouts and caretakers have for elephants and their calves at Theppakadu (Mudumalai Tiger Reserve) in the Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu.

Bellie and Bomman had requested houses for mahouts and caretakers like them in March 2023 when Chief Minister M K Stalin welcomed them at the Secretariat after the documentary won Oscars.

On May 13, Stalin inaugurated ‘Mahout Village’, a first in the country, with 44 houses dedicated to Mahout and Kavadi who take care of elephants.

“The wishes of Bomman and Belli have been fulfilled,” Stalin said, adding that the houses have been constructed by the Forest Department at a cost of Rs 5.6 crores.

The village has lanes named after elephants and from the design of the house to a basketball court to kids playground, the village has been built in consultation with Mahouts.

“It is beautifully lit by solar lights and carefully protected with a solar fence.…the village is an ode to our dedicated Mahouts and cavadies for their selfless service,” Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary (Environment and Forests), said.

The government has also prepared a detailed project report (DPR) to construct an advanced centre for elephant protection and environment complex in the Theppakadu elephant camp.

Theppakadu in the picturesque Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu is known as a town within the dense Mudumalai forests, as over the years it has emerged as the nerve centre for wildlife habitat in south India, especially for elephants.

The village’s plain topography and the natural atmosphere needed for wild animals has helped the local community to maintain jumbos. The century-old elephant camp in Theppakadu brought out vividly in the Oscar-winning short film The Elephant Whisperers is one of the oldest in Asia, serving as home to jumbos that are orphaned and are in need of rehabilitation.

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. The mahouts and caretakers spent quite a lot of time taming jumbos that go on a rampage and tending to the calves that have been orphaned.

Over the years, Theppakadu has become the base camp for the Forest Department as the town houses several facilities including a blood sample collection centre. It is also now the place where the government has built accommodation facilities for people who work in the forests.

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, 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.