Video | Elephant spa in Karnataka

Sakrebyle elephant camp, near Shivamogga, attracts a large number of tourists for the opportunity to watch elephants play in the water of Tunga river.

Sakrebyle elephant camp is one of the oldest elephant camps in India. It was set up about 14 km away from Shivamogga in pre-the Independence days. The camp is located in Karnataka on the Shivamogga-Mangaluru highway near the backwaters of Tunga river.

Sakrebyle has been a favourite place for elephants for a long time. The name Sakrebyle means sugar field in Kannada, and we all know that elephants love sugarcane.

Surrounded by Shettihalli Wildlife Sanctuary, this camp had been set up mainly to train wild elephants in the days when these gentle giants played a key role in shifting huge wooden logs from difficult forest terrain. However, now the camp has been transformed into a rescue, rehabilitation and training centre along with an eco-tourism zone.

At present, the elephant camp houses 16 tuskers and four female elephants. They are managed by 40 mahouts/cawadis (traditional elephant handlers). These mahouts/cawadis are either from the tribal community of Jenu Kuruba, who have traditional knowledge of elephant behaviour and the knack to handle elephants, or the Muslim community who too are well-versed in handling elephants.

This camp attracts a large number of tourists for the opportunity to watch these gentle giants play in the water of Tunga river while the mahouts give them a bath and scrub their bodies.