Thambi is angry. His milk is late, and to make it worse, his evening walk has been delayed. He flays his tiny trunk and charges ahead, knocking off a plastic chair on his way, sending pots and mugs flying all around his enclosure. It takes four grown men to calm the four-month-old elephant calf down. One of them hurries to make a mug of warm milk, which he offers through a tube. A little later, with a full tummy, he takes a short and satisfied stroll. That’s enough activity for one day for the newest member at Theppakadu elephant camp, Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in the Nilgiris.
The male calf was brought to the camp on April 10 after efforts to reunite him with his herd failed. He was found abandoned at Periyanaickenpalayam forests near Coimbatore. Nearby, in another enclosure, is a five-month-old that was brought to the camp on March 9 after her mother died of health complications at Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve. The female elephant too is drinking milk — much like human babies, we learn that elephant babies too spend a good part of the day feeding.
A mahout prepares formula milk for the calves | Photo Credit: SATHYAMOORTHY M
How are the new members getting used to life in an elephant camp?
“They do something new every other day,” chuckles N Saranya, forester, Theppakadu elephant camp. When the babies first arrived, Saranya admits to feeling jittery, owing to the huge responsibility on their shoulders. “It is just like tending to human babies,” she says. The sleepless nights, feeding at short intervals, changing sheets, staying attentive to their hunger cues: it is all the same with elephant calves.
They receive round the clock care by a team of five | Photo Credit: SATHYAMOORTHY M
According to R Ramesh, livestock inspector, the calves demand to feed 12 to 14 times a day, drinking 1.5 litres of formula milk each time. “We keep a watch on their body temperature, and ensure they are resting and urinating well,” he explains. The calves are under the care of a team of five, among whom M Raman is the senior mahout. He has experience caring for a calf two decades ago when he worked at the Vandalur Zoo in Chennai. “The calves are always playful; they have the kaattu buddhi [ways of the forest] intact, and hence keep butting us with their heads whenever we go close to them,” says the 53-year-old.
The calves were abandoned by their mothers, and found at Sathyamangalam and Periyanaickenpalayam forests earlier this year | Photo Credit: SATHYAMOORTHY M
The two of them, referred to as thambi and paapa, spend most of their time indoors and go for short strolls, flanked by their caretakers in the morning and evening. “All the 27 camp elephants have a training session at 8am, and we bring out the calves just then, and they run about,” says Saranya. But this is done only if the weather is right — they remain inside if it is too hot or too cold. “They are very sensitive, which is why no one, other than their caretakers, are allowed near them,” she explains, adding that every person who is to enter the kraal (a wooden enclosure used to tame a wild elephant) has to dip their feet in a solution of potassium permanganate placed at the entrance. “This is a precaution to prevent infections,” she says.
The calves have a fenced-in space for strolls nearby, and sleep on jute sack beds that have a thin filling of coconut fibre. “Caretakers keep changing these beds as and when the calves wet them,” says Saranya.
They go for strolls in the mornings and evenings | Photo Credit: SATHYAMOORTHY M
Even as the people at the camp speak of the calves’ shenanigans with warmth, a certain melancholy permeates the air once in a while. “Nothing can replace the care of their mother,” says C Vidhya, Deputy Director of Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, (Core Area). “Usually, in a herd, mothers ensure calves are very close by, and even if they go grazing, calves are left in the care of another female, such as an aunt,” she adds. “We have to give the calves a similar feeling; every time they stretch their trunks, they must feel there is someone around.” The calves, according to her, were brought to the camp as a last resort. “We tried our best to reunite them with their herds, but couldn’t,” she says.
One of the calves takes a nap | Photo Credit: SATHYAMOORTHY M
Vidhya explains that the Theppakadu camp is known for caring for calves, with experienced mahouts and cavadis (assistants). This is where Bommi and Raghu, that featured in the Oscar-winning documentary film The Elephant Whisperers are being raised. The calves are also being monitored for their internal health. “We have carried out a few tests and screenings and are waiting for the results,” she says, adding that they will know more about their overall health then. She adds: “We hope they grow up together.”
