On the trail of India's gentle giants ??
I remember the day when the stray dogs in my neighbourhood in suburban Mumbai began barking vehemently. They didn't seem scared - more intrigued. The reason soon appeared around a corner — a colossal creature, unmistakably out of place in the streets of Mumbai, had entered their backyard.
An elephant, with the mahout perched on its back, strolled through the concrete jungle. The giant's stride seemed out of sync with the surrounding chaos. It was as if the elephant closed its eyes, reminiscing about the days spent in the lush green forests of the Western Ghats.
Or perhaps, the elephant, often referred to as a "forest engineer," was silently observing the structures crafted by human engineers.
India's relationship with its elephants
In March 2024, Kerala's Wayanad district made headlines as three men tragically lost their lives within a span of 17 days after encountering wild elephants. Over the past decade, the district has mourned the loss of 41 human lives due to elephant attacks. Similar incidents occur in states where elephants coexist closely with humans.
Indian culture celebrates?the wild animal as a deity, yet captive elephants are a common sight in temple festivals across Kerala. Amidst this cultural reverence, there are individuals who bravely risk their lives to protect wild elephants from those who seek to harm them for their valuable tusks.
Reporting on such incidents is akin to navigating a tightrope. Mongabay-India's Senior Staff Writer Arathi Menon , who has extensively covered human-elephant conflicts for us, shares her perspective:
"Even though elephants are one of the most studied mammals in India, a lot more needs to be done to understand the species and improve its conservation status. This dearth of information can sometimes be frustrating for journalists who want to do more nuanced reporting."
Walking alongside the giants
A few years ago, Arathi accompanied a rapid response team in Kodagu for a Mongabay-India story, where they worked to disperse a herd of elephants encamped in a coffee estate.
"I could feel my heart pounding in my mouth when I realised the elephants were only a few feet away from where we were; their unmistakable, pungent scent whirling towards us from behind the coffee plants."
For Arathi, this experience was deeply immersive , shedding light on the challenges encountered by both humans and elephants, and emphasising the pressing need for sustainable solutions.
Through her evocative storytelling, Arathi aims to amplify the voices of those affected by human-elephant conflicts and encourage dialogue on conservation practices.
"The media in India often engage in news reporting on human-elephant interactions, particularly when incidents involve loss of life or crop depredation. Unfortunately, much of this reporting borders on sensationalism. There is minimal focus on the underlying causes or the need for long-term solutions to address the problem that's escalating."
Arathi's fascination with elephants traces back to her hometown of Kottayam in Kerala. She reminisces about her childhood experiences with elephants during the annual tradition of Nirapara or Aana para. During this ritual, a temple elephant, accompanied by its mahout and an oracle, would visit homes to receive offerings of paddy, jaggery, coconut, and bananas.
In Kerala's temple festivals, it's customary to have two or three elephants present, often with one designated to carry the idol of the deity around the town.
"As a kid, I would run indoors at the sight of their arrival, both in fear of the oracle, perpetually in a trance, and in awe of the majestic elephant which moved with a rhythmic gait."
Back then, Arathi was unaware of the harsh treatment endured by these gentle giants, who were present to add grandeur to the events. However, these festivals often prove unforgiving for the elephants. The abuse and mistreatment faced by these majestic creatures paint a poignant picture of the complex relationship between humans and elephants in India.
"Elephants also serve as poignant symbols of the tragic irony and hypocrisy that exist in human society—they are revered as divine, yet they are tortured into submission and trained to execute menial tasks. The human ability to domesticate such a powerful creature as the elephant lays bare both our strength and weakness as a species."
At Mongabay-India, alongside our coverage of the complex human-elephant conflict issue ,?our stories also?uncover intriguing facts about these forest engineers to gain a deeper understanding of their behaviour?and ecology.
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The art and science of elephant whispering
Elephants, with their sophisticated communication, give enough cues. Scientists have identified at least ten elephant call types with high-frequency trumpets during emotional arousal related to aggression or mating, and low-frequency growls and rumbles in more relaxed social contexts.?
What’s for lunch? Elephants are picky eaters finds study in northern West Bengal
A study in northern West Bengal found thatelephants are selective with their diet , feeding on approximately 130 species of plants among the 286 that were recorded. This selectivity is contradictory to the current knowledge that elephants are generalist feeders. However, multi-season studies are needed to confirm this.
Wayanad is summer home for elephants, says a study
Elephants frequent the wet forest tract of the Wayanad plateau during summer owing to the riparian forests and swamps in the landscape that make the habitat cooler and wetter than the surrounding matrix of dry forests in the adjacent Mysore and Sigur plateaus of the Nilgiri landscape, finds a recent study.
Learn more about India's elephants, their habitat, conservation strategies to safeguard their population, and the latest research,?here .
In the next edition of Mongabay-India Specials we look at how invasive species are altering India's ecosystem and posing a challenge to native flaura and fauna.?
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Social-Media Coordinator, Mongabay-India
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