Gayatri, an 87-year-old zoo elephant is a resident at the Bannerghatta Biological Park in Bengaluru. With her advanced age, she faces many problems that most senior citizens face. Her eyesight fails her and her hearing is not what it used to be but yet, she looks forward to a romp in the forest at night. Once a captive elephant, Gayatri now has a new shot at life thanks to an one-of-a-kind initiative for 24 elephants at the park.
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00:00 [MUSIC]
00:15 It is a cloudy and windy morning at the Banargata Biological Park in Bengaluru.
00:19 Raja and Nayappa, two mahouts from the park, have set out in search of an elephant.
00:24 [MUSIC]
00:27 They have walked nearly 6 kilometers away from the park and yet there is no sign of the elephant.
00:32 Raja marks the dry earth with his stick.
00:36 [MUSIC]
00:38 If the elephant happens to walk this path after them, the trailing chain will draw a line over the marking.
00:44 [MUSIC]
00:49 Finally, once they are in the forest area, they spot the elephant they are looking for.
00:54 [MUSIC]
01:01 Gayatri is 87 years old and she has the same issues that many senior citizens face.
01:07 Her eyesight is failing, she can't hear very well and all too often she can't find her way back home.
01:14 In this case, to the biological park.
01:16 But what is Gayatri, a tamed zoo elephant, doing in the forest in the first place?
01:22 [MUSIC]
01:30 Gayatri spent most of her adult life working at a timber yard near Chikmagalur.
01:35 For 34 years, she lifted and moved timber logs out of the forest.
01:40 But she wasn't always a captive elephant.
01:42 [MUSIC]
01:48 She roamed the forest of Nagarhode for 32 years as a wild elephant before she was captured.
01:54 [MUSIC]
01:56 She was tamed at Sakrabayil and pressed into service.
01:59 [MUSIC]
02:02 When she retired in 2002, she was moved to the elephant care centre at the Banargata Biological Park to live out the rest of her life.
02:10 [MUSIC]
02:14 [SPEAKING IN TAMIL]
02:26 [MUSIC]
02:36 The elephant care centre is a retirement home with a difference.
02:40 [SPEAKING IN TAMIL]
02:54 [MUSIC]
02:59 The Banargata Biological Park is just over 22 kilometres from the city centre, the Vidhana Sauda.
03:05 The biological park houses a zoo and it also operates a safari.
03:09 But there's something interesting going on here.
03:11 Take a look at this terrain.
03:13 [MUSIC]
03:18 The biological park is a small part of a 230 square kilometre Banargata National Park.
03:24 The proximity to this forest has given the park authorities a chance to try a very successful experiment
03:30 with 24 retired and rescued jumbos who, like Gayathri, are now held at the park.
03:36 [SPEAKING IN TAMIL]
04:03 [MUSIC]
04:05 What Suresh has described is India's first and only experiment to return once-stamed or captive elephants
04:12 to the wild for a few hours each day.
04:14 As part of this semi-captive elephant programme, 24 retired and rescued elephants from the care centre
04:21 are led out into the forest every evening.
04:24 A few are allowed to walk free with no chains restricting their movement.
04:29 The mahouts know well that these elephants will return to the park the next morning.
04:34 Others, who have a tendency to roam, are made to wear a chain around their legs to slow down their movement.
04:40 The sound of the chain also alerts the handlers to the location of these elephants.
04:45 [MUSIC]
04:47 Despite her age and failing eyesight, Gayathri also spends the nights in the forest.
04:52 The other elephants from the care centre help her along and she manages to navigate the forest effortlessly.
04:58 They are now a herd, a family.
05:01 [MUSIC]
05:13 When Raja, Gayathri's handler for more than 20 years, finally spots her, he has to cajole her into returning.
05:19 [MUSIC]
05:21 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
05:50 [MUSIC]
05:59 Raja has known Gayathri for a long time.
06:01 The two share a special bond from the days of their training.
06:05 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
06:31 So it was no surprise that Raja was the first to identify the signs of ageing.
06:36 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
07:05 [MUSIC]
07:34 These days, a mahout leads Gayathri back to the care centre.
07:39 She senses his presence by smell.
07:42 A snack of fresh grass is waiting for the elephants when they return to the park.
07:47 [MUSIC]
07:50 The calves are delighted to be reunited with Gayathri and fuss around her.
07:55 [MUSIC]
07:58 Once the animals start to settle in, the mahouts check for injuries.
08:03 When Raja reports that Gayathri has been struggling to eat for a few days, she is given an injection.
08:09 [MUSIC]
08:13 After the check-up, all the elephants are scrubbed and bathed.
08:17 [MUSIC]
08:21 By 11.30, it is time for breakfast.
08:24 Gayathri gets a special, high-fibre, easy-to-eat meal.
08:28 The other elephants get the local favourite, ragi mudde but in jumbo servings.
08:33 [MUSIC]
08:37 The elephants are now finally ready for the visitors.
08:40 [MUSIC]
08:48 [MUSIC]
09:03 Many other captive elephants in India are not as lucky as the elephants at the Banargata Biological Park.
09:09 According to an RTI filed in 2019 by activist Anthony Rubin, there are 2,675 captive elephants in India.
09:16 More than 90% of these are privately owned by individuals, circuses and temples.
09:22 [MUSIC]
09:26 In the wild, elephants form complex social relationships, but once tamed, they are forced to live and die alone.
09:33 [MUSIC]
09:37 But for elephants like Gayathri, the Semi-Captive Elephant Initiative has meant a shot at a new lease of life.
09:42 Zoo officials report that semi-captive elephants show better social as well as physical health.
09:48 They display less anxiety, reduced aggression and are generally happier.
09:53 [MUSIC]
10:20 Gayathri now has the freedom to roam around the forests and explore old elephant corridors,
10:25 which have been used by many elephants for generations.
10:28 That may not be the perfect solution, but Gayathri is finally home.
10:33 [MUSIC]
10:39 [MUSIC]
10:42 [MUSIC]