In Frames | At the elephant camp

The Kozhikamuthi camp in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu has 26 elephants

Kozhikamuthi, a Malasar tribal settlement in the core area of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu, is known for the occupation its men have been taking up for generations — capturing, taming and handling wild elephants for the Forest Department. This is the second elephant camp of the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, after the one at Theppakkadu in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve.

A wild elephant which is a habitual crop raider or has a history of killing people is captured and taken to the camp when conditioning efforts and translocation fail. Experienced kumkis (tuskers trained for special operations) are used for the capturing operation and the elephant is lodged in a kraal (wooden enclosure meant for training). A mahout (elephant handler) and a cavadi (assistant) are assigned to teach the animal basic commands. After the training, which usually takes three months, the animal is released. Mahouts at the camp say they consider their elephants as another member of their families. The bond between a captive elephant and its men gets stronger as days go by.

The day at the camp starts as early as 6 a.m. when the elephants are taken to a stream for a shower. After the bath, a neem oil-based solution is applied on the lower limbs and nails to keep off infections. The elephants are fed a nutritious breakfast of kali (made of boiled finger millet flour), boiled rice, salt, jaggery, a coconut and pieces of sugar cane. The mahouts and assistants make the camp elephants follow tasks and commands. The men then take them to the lush forest patches around the camp for grazing till evening.

Robust, agile and “obedient” tuskers at the camp are chosen for the role of kumkis. Kaleem, now aged 57, is the most trusted and experienced kumki of the camp, which is now home to 26 elephants. Muthu (20), which earned its nickname Arisiraja for raiding houses and shops for rice, is the last member of the camp to have undergone training in a kraal. Mahouts feel that Chinnathambi, 24, another robust tusker captured in 2019, can be made into a reliable kumki.

Text by Wilson Thomas and images by M. Periasamy