As nightfall units over The Nilgiris, the river Moyar is bathed in a golden hue. Peacocks make loud, plaintive calls as they exhibit their lovely plumage whereas gray langurs forage for berries. A stocky wild boar makes its presence felt briefly and the air is streaked with the loud calls of racket-tailed drongos and jungle mynahs. Tucked away amidst the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR), alongside the banks of the river, is the Theppakadu Elephant Camp, one of many oldest camps in Asia that dates again to the Nineteen Twenties the place as many as 27 elephants are rehabilitated.
Training time on the camp
| Photo Credit:
SATHYAMOORTHY M
Visitors can observe elephants of their pure habitat, observe their behaviour, and actions like feeding and bathing underneath the supervision of educated mahouts.
“During the British times, elephants were captured from the forest, trained, and used for hauling timber logs,” says C Vidhya, Deputy Director of MTR (Core Area) including {that a} paradigm shift in forest conservation turned such camps to rehabilitation centres for elephants captured from the forest resulting from conflicts, points, or accidents.
Food blocks made with mashed horsegram, ragi, and rice. shot on oneplus #frames of India
| Photo Credit:
Okay Jeshi
Inside the camp, a bunch of mahouts and kavadis, who’re caretakers of elephants, are mixing big meals blocks fabricated from cooked horse-gram, white rice, and ragi, throwing in a splash of mineral combine and salt, all underneath the watchful eyes of Dr Okay Rajesh Kumar, the camp veterinarian. “An adult elephant in the wild grazes for 16 to 18 hours a day and consumes about 200 kilograms of greens. As camp elephants have bathing rituals, training etc, there is loss of grazing time. This supplement diet, fed every morning and evening, makes up for it,” he says, including that the feeding time additionally enriches the bonding between mahouts and elephants. He arrives on the food regimen chart primarily based on age, weight, and physiology standing, which is reviewed each three months.
Training is a routine for camp elephants
| Photo Credit:
Sathyamoorthy M
It is the one camp the place elephants are educated with out utilizing standard instruments like ankush ( a persist with a pointed hook). The tribal communities of Kaatunaickers, Kurumbas, and Malasars have been the caretakers for generations. C Mari, a mahout for three a long time talks fondly of 65-year-old Kamatchi, captured from Pollachi. He has taken care of six elephants like Senthivadivdu, Cheran, and Bama through the years. “Like children, they will take feed only when hungry. They are also naughty and like to play in the mud. We use commands like baitu, uttu, oopar dekh, enicho, a smattering of Hindi and Malayalam, while training them. Nutritious food is the key to maintain the overall health of elephants, especially in the initial years till they reach 10 or 15.”
The camp’s feeding ritual is exclusive. A jumbo kitchen runs like clockwork by the day with big cooking vessels churning meals for the light giants.
Th elephants are taken for an opulent bathtub on the morning time. shot on oneplus #frames of India
| Photo Credit:
Okay Jeshi
“Horsegram, ragi and rice are cooked for hours and mashed before placing them in square moulds. The micronutrients are always a part of their diet, unless there is a special diet prescribed by the veterinarian, like including fruits or chickpeas,” explains the Deputy Director.
Sugarcane, coconut and jaggery are candy treats for the elephants shot on oneplus #frames of India
| Photo Credit:
Okay Jeshi
The feeding routine additionally disciplines the mahouts and kavadis, she provides. It helps the veterinarian replace any behavioural adjustments in elephants whether or not it’s in musth (an aggressive state) interval and so on. “The sugarcane, coconut and jaggery are sweet treats at the end of the meal. They also like to have sugar in their diet,” provides Vidhya.
Mahouts and ‘kavadis’ combine the meals for elephants. shot on oneplus #frames of India
| Photo Credit:
Okay Jeshi
The elephants within the camp are additionally used as kumkis to drive away wild elephants that enter human environment. “Most wild animals engage in ‘salt lick’ in the wild to get their dose of vitamins and minerals. We provide micro and macro vitamins and nutrients in the form of mineral mix. This gives a boost to their metabolism,” explains Rajesh as guests start to queue up.
A mahout rings the bell at 6pm signalling mealtime. The meals blocks are hand-mixed and become giant-sized balls and served straight to the hungry elephants. M Megala, Forest Ranger for Theppakaadu Elephant Camp, says the elephants are taken for an opulent bathtub on the morning time, adopted by a 30-minute coaching earlier than arriving for the morning feed. M Maran from The Nilgiris, a retired mahout oversees the coaching. “I have worked here for 38 years. Once the rescued elephants are placed inside stalls, we offer sugarcane and nurture our bond. We teach a few commands, pat them and treat them with love. They reciprocate.”
Elephants are given complement feed twice a day
| Photo Credit:
Sathyamoorthy M
While in Central India, camp elephants are fed jowar rotis, rice and grains cake is the norm right here. “They graze seasonal fodder through the day. Male elephants like Santosh, and Bama, Kamatchi, Indra are out in the wild during nights as well. One of the elephants Murthy, believed to have killed 20 people, became the baby of the camp. So is Cherambadi Shankar captured from Gudalur that killed two people in a day. We have to bow to the caretakers. Such positive stories are heartening,” says Vidhya, including, “What better way to understand that elephants and humans can co-exist harmoniously.”
Feeding time is 8.30am to 9am and 5.30pm to 6pm. Visit mudumalaitigerreserve.com
Published – April 09, 2025 04:51 pm IST
