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The greatest number of Asiatic elephants reside in India. In addition to being a part of our native nature, they also enjoy high regard for Buddhist and Hindu traditions. In South Asian nations, the elephant is revered just like the cow.
The mighty creatures, however, endure a great deal of cruelty and agony in the name of tradition behind the drapes of deification.
Behavior of Elephants
Elephants are sociable, nomadic creatures that travel through vast, established home ranges in search of established supplies of food and water. Regrettably, the forests they once knew have been converted into rice fields, and tea plantations, or were destroyed by mines or flooded by dam buildings.
Many of them are either slaughtered by poachers for their ivory, or they are abducted for religious uses and ruthlessly taught, such as the ritual worship at the Guruvayur temple in Kerala, which has around 60 elephants.
Despite all of this, the human-elephant conflict remains one of the biggest challenges to elephant conservation in the modern period. Elephants used to be able to travel across vast areas of wooded land, but now there are concrete jungles. Elephant migration pathways are fragmented, which means that during their travels, they encounter populated areas.
In many places in India, locals are forced to live right next to elephant herds. The conflict between people and nature frequently causes property damage and fatalities. There is also a whole industry built around elephants. Elephants in captivity are trained by mahouts (elephant riders) and used for rides, entertainment, and religious rites.
These animals are essential to their way of life, and because of their intimidating size, elephants undergo grueling training sessions before being tamed. Since mahouts hardly make enough money to feed their own families, they are isolated and endure appalling living circumstances.
In the Documentary
The Oscar-nominated documentary "The Elephant Whisperers," by Kartiki Gonsalves, illustrates several instances of pleasant interactions between elephants and their carers.
The audience is taken on a mesmerizing visual safari by Gonsalves' documentary, which has been nominated for the 95th Academy Awards in the category of Documentary Short Film. As the trees change colour, the river is refilled, and later in the summer, the forest burns in the heat, and the audience is captivated by the changing seasons.
At that point, Raghu, an injured juvenile elephant that had been removed from its herd, was placed in the care of Bomman and Bellie. Gonsalves keeps the focus on the relationship that forms between Raghu and his carers, but she also makes subtle but important statements about the ongoing conflict between humans and animals.
The story of the trio provides a valuable window into what happens when forest rangers are unable to reconnect an elephant youngster with its herd. It tells the tale of middle-aged couple Bomman and Bellie, members of the Kattunayakan tribe, and their endearing interactions with Raghu, a baby elephant, and later Ammu, another calf elephant.
The movie shows how devotedly the couple cares for the baby elephants as though they were their children, forging a strong emotional bond with the endearing jumbos.
Organizations like the Mahouts Elephant Foundation are dedicated to saving elephants from mahouts and compensating or assisting mahouts to promote a humane, mutually beneficial relationship with elephants.
Elephants can only now live happily with the aid of people who understand and love the creatures and don't damage them for their advantage because there has been a major loss and fragmentation of forest regions where they could formerly wander freely. To maintain a connection without friction and to implement the same love that we share.
Conclusion
This documentary will leave you in tears with its ending, where Raghu is being separated from Bomman and Bellie i.e. his carers who didn’t treat him as just a mere animal or their responsibility but rather as their child.
From morning baths to taking his tantrums for eating the movie makes the audience quite emotional.This documentary is surely a must-watch to not only experience the affectionate bond between humans and animals but also to see the tradition of tribal people. The movie in a true sense reflects the struggles faced by them and yet how happily they live their lives.
Written By- Kirti Garg
Edited By- Rumela Gupta
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