Sangita Iyer’s 26-part docu-series ‘Asian Elephants 101’ will be telecast on World Elephant Day

The wildlife filmmaker focuses on challenges faced by elephants and how their survival is threatened by loss of habitat and human interference

Elephant conservationist Sangita Iyer gives Lakshmi a hug

If wildlife filmmaker and elephant conservationist Sangita Iyer had her way, there would be no elephants in captivity in India. Processions led by elephants would be a thing of the past.

That, she insists, is the need of the hour because of the 40,000 elephants on our planet, 55% happen to be in India. Asian elephants are on the endangered species’ list of The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Sangita says India is their last bastion. “Male elephants are declining dramatically, as they are targeted by poachers for their tusks, and exploited in “cultural festivals” of Kerala. Of the 27,000-odd wild elephants, just over 1,000 of them are bull elephants. This will inevitably cause inbreeding, leading to deformities and deadly diseases, threatening the long-term survival of the species,” she explains.

As part of a world-wide campaign to raise awareness about Asian elephants, Sangita has made a 26-part short docu-series, Asian Elephants 101.

Elephant Ayyappan in chains in a still from ‘Gods in Shackles’

Five short films will be aired on Nat Geo TV India in seven languages, interspersed with various programmes on World Elephant Day, which falls on August 12. Nat Geo WILD YouTube is also airing a few segments through August and September.

Asian Elephants 101 focusses on topics related to captive and wild elephants. Some cover ecological significance of elephants, how they communicate and their unique personalities. “Those show how much they are like us, and help us understand the need to respect their role in the web of life, shedding light on our connectedness with elephants and interdependence,” she explains.

Human-elephant conflict

The films expose the realities of human-elephant conflict resulting in senseless tragedies. A few segments on captive elephants reveal how confinement and constant abuse terrorise and traumatise these animals, leading to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

“Some of the short films offer hope for captive elephants such as model sanctuaries in the US and rehabilitation centres in Karnataka and Assam.”

Sangita says it is outrageous that elephants are exploited for profit behind the insidious veil of culture and religion. Her film Gods in Shackles had shown that exploitation of elephants for profit in religious and cultural festivals is fuelled by public demand.

“If people refuse to participate in cultural festivals that exploit elephants, that would be a first major step in ending elephant slavery. Gods in Shackles created significant awareness of the problem. People are now realising the dark truth behind the insidious veil of glamorous parades,” she says. She hopes more religious institutions switch to life-size look-alike elephants. “All ‘live elephants’ must be retired and rehabilitated,” she insists.

A still from the film ‘Gods in Shackles’ by elephant conservationist Sangita Iyer that shows Jairam in chains

Sangita believes that she was destined to speak up for the jumbos. As a child in Alathur village of Palakkad, her grandparents used to take her to their family temple, where she was allowed to play with a tusker. “My grandma used to tell me that at three, I had asked her why the elephant had chains around his legs and I didn’t. So, my grandma bought me anklets and said, “now you have chains too”. But I still wanted to know why the elephant’s legs were tied together and not mine. I’ve always felt a soulful connection towards elephants,” she recalls.

In 2013, Sangita, who lives in Canada, visited a few temples in India and saw severely injured elephants. That was when she knew she had to expose the atrocities against these sentient animals. She indignantly recalls how elephants with ghastly wounds, chains cutting into their flesh, and even blind elephants were being paraded. “The bull elephants of Kerala, especially in their prime mating period – the musth cycle, are shackled day and night and left to starve. The handlers and owners do this to deplete their energy and make them subservient to commands.”

She adds that though The Kerala Captive Elephant Management Rules document offers guidelines, many owners and brokers exploit loopholes in it because the laws do not clearly articulate specific penalties for flouting the laws.

“The government must mend the regulations and enforce the laws. Provisions must be there to allow non-profit organisations to create sanctuaries. There is a dearth of information regarding captive elephant welfare. Handlers are unaware of compassionate techniques, proper foot care, mud bath etc. Although capture and interstate transportation of elephants have been banned, they are still being captured illegally from Assam, Bihar and Arunachal Pradesh and transported to Kerala,” she says.

Talking about the Kottoor Elephant Rehabilitation Centre near Thiruvananthapuram, she says it is better than all other government run centres in Kerala. The lake, and the forest area surrounding the rehab centre offer a feeling of wilderness. “With the support of former Chief Wildlife Warden Surendra Kumar, I had invited a renowned elephant foot care specialist and positive reinforcement trainer – Steve Koyle. He provided hands-on training to mahouts, who now have a completely changed attitude towards elephants.”

Need for coexistence

With regards to the plight of wild elephants, Sangita points out that reckless land use is the main reason for human-elephant conflict. Tribal people coexist harmoniously with elephants and the natural world.

Elephants need more space, as they wander across vast areas in search of food and mates 16 to 18 hours a day. “However, land owners, who own vast areas inside the forest cultivate bananas, arecanuts, rubber plantations etc., sucking up forest resources including fresh water, and preventing elephants from drinking water in their own habitats. I have visited the North Nilambur area in Wayanad where the owners have installed electrical fencing that prevents wild elephants from reaching water resources! The elephants are doomed if they stay inside the forest because they don’t have enough vegetation to graze on. They are doomed if they step outside the forest to feed on crops as they are assaulted and brutalised by farmers. So where should they go?”

She reasons that the solution lies in buying the land from those who own plantations inside the forests, so that elephants can reclaim their lost land and stay inside the forests. “Empowering those living on the forest fringes by providing them with basic tools and enough resources – financial and knowledge based – as well as incentives to protect elephants will go a long way in creating a harmonious coexistence.”

She maintains that The Wildlife Protection Act 1972 has to be updated, as conditions have changed drastically over the past 50 years. Sangita explains that many departments need to work collaboratively. “For instance, the railway department needs to manage train speeds to ensure that elephants aren’t killed on railway tracks; the electricity department must ensure that the wires in the forest areas are insulated and safe for migrating elephants; highway and transportation departments must enforce speed limits to ensure that elephants crossing highways are not hit and killed. Given that we have encroached into their land, it’s incumbent on humans to ensure that we accommodate the needs of the elephants.

If there is one thing she has learnt from the elephants, it is coexistence.