Latest news with #ElephantWhisperers
India Today
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
India's Elephant Whisperers celebrate first-ever mahout village. Watch video
Tamil Nadu's Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, home to India's oldest elephant camp, witnessed a moment of quiet magic recently, as IAS officer and environmentalist Supriya Sahu reunited with Raghu and Bommi, the elephant calves who captured global hearts in the Oscar-winning documentary 'The Elephant Whisperers'.But this wasn't a formal inspection. It was a homecoming of the long ago, the world watched spellbound as Raghu and Bommi's story unfolded on-screen, a tale of orphaned calves and the gentle, grounded humans who raised them with unwavering The film, a moving ode to human-animal bonding, shone a spotlight on the Theppakadu Elephant Camp in Tamil Nadu, where caretakers known as mahouts and cavadys become lifelong companions to the elephants they tale, however, didn't end when the credits rolled. India's Elephant Whisperers celebrate first-ever mahout village. Watch video In the dappled sunlight of the Nilgiris, life continues, quieter but no less meaningful. And now, a new chapter unfolds. A reunion is captured in a photograph that needs no Sahu offers sugarcane to Raghu, who gently accepts it, his eyes mirroring the innocence of trust hard-earned. Bommi, ever calm, stands close, watchful, serene, and safe.A CAMP WHERE WOUNDS HEALadvertisementAt the heart of this reunion is the Theppakadu Elephant Camp, nestled within the Mudumalai National Park. It remains a sanctuary not just for Raghu and Bommi, but for dozens of elephants who arrive bearing wounds, some inflicted by the wild, others by humans. Here, amid ancient trees and flowing rivers, those wounds are tended with patience and many of whom have spent lifetimes working in tandem with these gentle giants, offer more than food and shelter; they offer continuity, companionship, and a future. COEXISTENCE IN THE WILDTamil Nadu's story of compassionate conservation isn't a solitary one. Over in Assam's Golaghat district, local communities have quietly become champions of coexistence, opening corridors, reducing conflict, and learning to walk alongside the elephants who share their land. It's a model for human-wildlife harmony that India, and the world, can learn not every chapter is hopeful. In one viral video shared by IAS Sahu earlier, an elephant is seen chewing on discarded plastic, a moment of heartbreak that starkly reflects our ecological scenes jar us into remembering that we are not just stewards of the wild, we are, far too often, its greatest realities, both tender and tragic, form the complete portrait of elephant conservation in India, where moments of joy exist alongside calls for urgent remains unshaken is the silent, soulful dialogue between humans and elephants, a bond formed not through power but through empathy. It is a relationship that endures through droughts and downpours, fame and forgetfulness, pain and Supriya Sahu's visit reminds us, caring for elephants isn't a seasonal duty, it is a sacred Raghu and Bommi's journey be more than a film. Let it be a living story. Let it call us to action, to awareness, to awe. Let us listen—truly listen, to the whispers of the Watch
Time of India
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar visits Theppakadu elephant camp in the Nilgiris
1 2 Udhagamandalam: Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar visited the elephant camp at Theppakadu in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) in the Nilgiris on Saturday. Dhankar took a chopper from Theetukal helipad near Ooty to reach the Masinagudi helipad near MTR. He was received by information and publicity minister M P Saminathan and additional chief secretary for environment, climate change and forest Supriya Sahu. Nilgiris collector Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneeru and TN chief wildlife warden Rakesh Dogra were also present. At the camp, Dhankhar inspected the kitchen where food is prepared for captive elephants and monitored how they were being fed. He also interacted with Bomman and Bellie, who featured in the Oscar winning documentary the Elephant Whisperers, and posed with them for a photo. On Friday evening, Dhankar had visited a Toda tribal hamlet near Ooty and interacted with the residents. The Vice President is likely to leave for New Delhi on Sunday.
