Mathura’s Elephant Whisperers Give New Lease on Life to Rescued Tuskers

Like the eponymous Jane Austen heroine, there is also an Emma in India. An elephant, she lives in Mathura, a famous pilgrimage site in Uttar Pradesh just three hours from Delhi.The 44-year-old, who loves to munch on watermelons and cucumbers, was rescued in 2021 from Dhanbad, a district in Jharkhand, where the burning Jharia coal mine poses a threat to local communities.Once a captive elephant used for the purpose of begging on streets, Emma tasted freedom four years back. But by that time, continual walks on tarmac roads had damaged her front legs. Though there has been an improvement, she still experiences pain.Emma’s sanctuary, the Elephant Conservation and Care centre, run by the non-profit Wildlife SOS in Mathura, was set up in 2010 for the rescue and rehabilitation of captive elephants. The centre is spread on about 20 acres of land.Project Elephant and Tiger: A Fresh Look at Terrestrial Conservation?At the Mathura centre, all the elephants walk without chains. They enjoy baths, fruit treats and daily excursions accompanied by caregivers. Around six in the morning, the animals go out for morning walk. It goes on till eight. The same is repeated in the evenings.Apart from the walks, vegetables and greens are hung at heights in hay nets. Getting these also involves exercise and is part of the centre’s enrichment activity which stimulates elephants mentally and physically. Typically, an elephant needs about 200-250 kg of food per day comprising green fodder, veggies and porridge.Instead of the traditional iron tools used to command elephants, housed at the centre for display purposes only, the caregivers in Mathura touch the animals gently with sticks from outside their enclosures. This is part of the target training procedure for positive conditioning. Under the process, the animals are trained to open their mouths, and place their legs, tail and even the back for medical examination.This kind of protected contact always happens through a barrier, and the effect is magical. When touched like this, it is a signal for Laxmi to place her feet on the iron grille, one after the other, for inspection by keepers Pappu Ali and Manik Chand. They have been with her for over three years. Laxmi was rescued in 2013 at the age 18.When foot pads are inspected for any injury or damage, a small pedicure-like routine also follows where these are dusted with a brush. Sometimes, nail filing is done. “We condition the animals through protected contact for footpad checking and nail filing. We do it after the morning walk,” Harendra Singh, the head coordinator at the Mathura elephant centre, told The Quint.Though after the quarantine period is over, the elephants are grouped for socialisation, some like to be left alone like Laxmi. She was rescued from Mulund railway station in Mumbai and is still reluctant to share food. Unlike Phoolkali, who was starved when she arrived, Laxmi was overweight and had to be lifted with a crane. In confinement, she used to gorge on sweets and fried food which made her obese. At 18, Laxmi was over 5000 kg. She is now about 30 and weighs around 4500 kg. Senior press officer at Wildlife SOS, Shresatha Pachori said, “Free access to the water body is always needed. This is denied when the animals are in captivity and thus are dehydrated. As they lack sweat glands, they have mud baths to keep themselves cool.”Just like Emma, all the elephants accommodated here went through harsh existence for years. The animals were seized from zoos, circuses and temples as part of rescue operations after state forest departments intervened.Today at the Mathura centre, elephants like Emma and her friend Phoolkali receive lifetime care and medical treatment. Both are part of a herd led by matriarch Maya, who is 50 years of age. Phoolkali, about 68, is one of the tallest female tuskers at the centre.In India, elephants hold huge religious and cultural significance. But despite that they have been in captivity for 5,000 years and were once widely used in wars. Though the animals come under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, last amended in 2022, about 2,400 elephants continue to remain captive in India. The amendment allows the transfer or the transportation of captive elephants if owners hold valid certificates.Singh explained that despite being the largest animals on land, captive elephants are treated badly. “As captive elephants are owned they also change hands. Only if an owner lacks proper paperwork, forest departments can seize the animals. That is how many animals land up at the rescue centre where doctors and caregivers dedicate time to them.”During a walk inside the centre, Singh pointed out that in captivity, elephants tied up with chains undergo a brutal training process. “When a calf is captured, Phajaan starts. This involves crushing the spirit of the animal through continuous beatings till it becomes submissive. Many elephants die in this way.”In 2018, the non-profit got an additional space of about 25 acres in Churmura village of Mathura to set the first elephant hospital in India. Here, Dr Gochalan, fondly called Go, is a wildlife veterinary officer who takes care of sick and injured elephants. Check-ups are conducted here. A restraining device is always in place for the safety of the animals and their caregivers.According to the doctor, elephants who experience feet and leg pain undergo therapeutic treatments. Apart from rubber tubs used for medicated foot baths, corrective and diagnostic tools are used to treat musculoskeletal damage. “Infrared therapy is used to treat inflammation of the legs. There is electro acupuncture for pain reduction and management. Laser therapy helps in faster healing of wounds.”Bani, a two-year-old elephant calf at the hospital, was rescued from Uttarakhand in 2023 and arrived in Mathura last year. At that time, she had paralysis in her hind legs. With the help of Ayurvedic massages and electro acupuncture for a year, she is now able to move. Though she can stand and walk, further treatment is needed. She still drags her hind legs and has been made to wear soft cushion foot pads for them. Apart from Bani, Tara, 27, is undergoing treatment at the hospital for joint pain for two years.The conservation and care centre, which runs on charity, houses 31 elephants in total, of which 20 are female and 11 male. There is a space dedicated to the memory of elephants who died here. One of them is the matriarch Champa who passed way in 2011 at the age of 55. The centre also has a Miyawaki plantation of native tree species developed in 2019.The centre, including the hospital, employs about 62 staff, comprising veterinary doctors, caregivers, support workers, drivers, documentation officers and researchers. “Many mahouts here earlier used to work with captive elephants. The organisation trained them to work in a positive way. They just need to take care of the animals,” Pachori said.(Deepanwita Gita Niyogi is a New Delhi-based freelance journalist.

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Mathura’s Elephant Whisperers Give New Lease of Life to Rescued Tuskers

Emma, Phoolkali and 29 other formerly captive elephants now live a life of leisure and care at a centre in Mathura.

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Topics: Wildlife Elephants Conservation