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]
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