- 6 months ago
India's population has quadrupled in this century and the places where wild elephants can live undisturbed by human pressure on their habitat are dwindling. In Northest India, entire villages desperately battle herds of wild elephants, which storm their fields and raid their crops, driven by hunger. It is a life or death situation for both the men and the elephants. But what can the men do? In India, the elephant is revered as the living reincarnation of the Hindu deity, Ganesh. And it is unthinkable to kill a god.
One possible solution lies in the ancient and honored knowledge of the "mahouts," the "elephant men" of India. Understanding and experience based on 5,000 years of tradition allow them to safely capture and domesticate these otherwise threatened Asian elephants. However, their unique skills are all but lost today, and as man and elephant compete for survival, old traditions and new generations must adapt to the changing needs and circumstances of modern India.
One possible solution lies in the ancient and honored knowledge of the "mahouts," the "elephant men" of India. Understanding and experience based on 5,000 years of tradition allow them to safely capture and domesticate these otherwise threatened Asian elephants. However, their unique skills are all but lost today, and as man and elephant compete for survival, old traditions and new generations must adapt to the changing needs and circumstances of modern India.
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00:00India has an ancient love affair with elephants.
00:09But elephants need forests, and India is running out of them.
00:15In the rice fields of northeast India, hungry elephants are on the rampage,
00:21raiding the crops, even taking human lives.
00:25The elephants must be stopped, but instead of simply shooting them,
00:30the government has called for expert help.
00:33It has turned to a small village in the south where men still know how to train wild elephants.
00:40If the rogue elephants can be captured, these men can save them
00:45and preserve a relationship that is 5,000 years old.
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01:45Imagine, every night a herd of wild elephants creeps out of the jungle and into your backyard.
02:12In a matter of hours, they'll destroy everything you own, everything you've worked for.
02:27All you have to defend yourself and protect your land is a burning torch soaked in diesel oil.
02:33In the rice fields of Northeast India, this nightmare has become a terrifying reality.
02:46The raiding herds driven by hunger threaten not only the ripening crop,
02:51but the lives of the farmers who stand in their way.
03:06Tonight, these farmers are lucky to escape with their lives.
03:12In India, the largest animal on land is on the warpath.
03:19Each year, elephants will kill more than 300 people.
03:24Some trampled, others torn deliberately, limb from limb.
03:31In the West, the answer would be simple, shoot these killers.
03:39But this is India, and here the elephant is revered as the living incarnation of the Hindu deity Ganesha.
03:47And you cannot kill a god.
03:54If there is any solution to the problem, it lies in the traditions of an Indian profession 5,000 years old.
04:03By dawn, the elephants have melted back into the surrounding forest.
04:22Gods are not.
04:27This is the down-to-earth reality of living with wild elephants.
04:39Many rice farmers, like this man, are ruined each year.
04:46Torn between faith and daily necessity, the farmers feel confused and helpless.
04:52They face a terrible choice between the needs of the body and those of the soul.
05:00The gods seem to have risen up against them.
05:05Fifteen hundred miles south, at the other end of India, a man is saying his prayers, as he does every morning.
05:30To the god Ganesha, the lord of beginnings.
05:37His name is Dr. Krishnamurti, a wildlife veterinarian of 40 years experience and a leading authority on the Asian elephant.
05:46The elephant problem is escalating, and the government has turned to him for help.
05:51Dr. K has devised a plan that may save both the crops and the marauding elephants.
05:59He sets out for the north, a journey which will take him fifteen hundred miles across one of the most crowded countries on earth.
06:07India's population has quadrupled this century, and now spirals toward one billion.
06:25There are fewer and fewer places where elephants can live undisturbed by human pressure on their habitat.
06:35But one such remaining place is here in the south.
06:38It's called Anamalei, Elephant Mountain.
06:42And here at Elephant Mountain, Dr. K will set his plan in motion.
06:54In contrast to the homicidal herds of the northeast, the elephants of Anamalei live in ideal country, lush tropical forest.
07:09Here is an opportunity to observe the intensely social behavior of wild herds, unharassed by man.
07:23Elephant families are led by females, and the calves are always under the watchful eye of one or more adults.
07:30The mother is supported by her sisters and daughters in protecting them.
07:40Young males are tolerated in the herd, but eventually will be pushed out to fend for themselves.
07:46These two young bulls mock fight and practice the skills they will one day need after they leave the group.
07:53The mature male is essentially solitary, only rejoining the herd for courtship and mating.
08:09Anamalei has been designated a national park, and here these peaceful giants have no enemies.
08:17It's hard to believe they are the same creatures that bring terror and destruction to the rice fields of the north.
08:24But it's not the elephants Dr. Krishnamurti has come to see.
08:35Living in the park alongside the wild elephants is a tribe of forest people called the Karda.
08:54The Karda are renowned for their bushcraft, for their skills as trackers, as honey collectors, and most of all, for their ability to train and work with elephants.
09:06Dr. K has come to Anamalei to seek their help.
09:10The Karda are an ancient people whose origins are shrouded in the mists of time.
09:19But for thousands of years, generation after generation, they have been elephant men.
09:27As a vet, Dr. K has spent much of his career working closely with these people.
09:32In acknowledgement of their skills, the government placed the Karda in charge of the domesticated elephants that work in the park.
09:43One advantage our tribals have, even today, they live within the forest.
09:49They live amidst animals.
09:52They are not scared of elephants.
09:53They know whether the animal is aggressive or whether the animal is a coward or whether the animal is mischievous animal.
09:59They can judge the animal by its movements and other things.
10:13In the village, the routine of life revolves entirely around these magnificent creatures.
10:18The first task of the day is to make breakfast. For the elephants, of course.
10:39Elephants have a very similar life cycle and life expectancy to human beings.
10:44Over his career, Dr. K has been the vet to several generations of these elephants.
10:55Some he has delivered. Others he has nursed back to health.
10:59Some he has watched grow old and die.
11:02These are working elephants. They haul logs, parade in religious ceremonies, and carry tourists on safaris through the park.
11:16In the wild, elephants spend up to 18 hours a day feeding.
11:33But 50% of what they eat passes straight through their simple stomachs.
11:37Here in South India, a more efficient system has been devised for feeding working elephants.
11:54Cereal grains are cooked and carefully rationed to suit the needs of each particular animal.
11:59A pinch of salt and the meal is ready.
12:16The concentrated diet means less time eating and more time working.
12:20But most importantly, it establishes the vital bond between the individual elephant and his keeper.
12:27For here, all elephants are fed by the hand of their master, large or small.
12:32The slow rhythms and gentle rituals of life in the Carta village are a world apart from the nightly terrors of Carta.
12:50Crop-raiding elephants.
13:04But Dr. K is hopeful that these people can ease the suffering in the North.
13:12He tells them about the crisis.
13:14I'm going up to West Bengal.
13:18The farmers there are having big problems with wild elephants taking their rice.
13:23It gets worse each year.
13:27A lot of people have been killed.
13:30The government have asked me to do something to stop it.
13:33So we decided to catch some of these crop raiders.
13:37But once the elephants are caught, we can't release them.
13:40There's no proper jungle left and they'll just come back and start raiding the fields again.
13:48There's only one thing to do.
13:51Let's train these wild elephants, domesticate them.
13:55And that's why I've come here.
13:57I need your help.
14:01There are none better than the Carta to consider the problem.
14:04Handling elephants seems to come naturally even to the youngest of them.
14:13This is Dinesh, who like many of the Carta comes from a long line of mahouts, elephant men.
14:27Elephant men.
14:32For all of his twelve years, Dinesh has lived with elephants.
14:37This forest, with all its creatures, is the world he knows and understands.
14:41It's because of the elephants that the Carta can make a living here.
14:57And wherever elephants work for people, people must in turn serve and care for them.
15:02After the elephants are fed, there is the daily ritual of bathing.
15:16Dinesh and his friend Ishwar take charge of a young elephant of their own.
15:33As with the feeding, bathing is an activity that builds up trust and understanding.
15:53It's also something the elephants love.
15:56It's also something the elephants love.
16:01Right there?
16:03Right there?
16:05Right there.
16:07Right there.
16:08The idea of a journey north has brought some excitement to the village.
16:35It's an irresistible chance for a young man to break away from the peaceful but familiar routines of village life.
17:05Dinesh's brother Prasad and his cousin Kumar have decided to volunteer for Dr. K's adventure.
17:23They've agreed to let Ganesh come too.
17:45Ishwar has taught his young elephant to ring the bell at the village shrine to Ganesh, the half-elephant, half-human god.
17:57Before starting their journey, they must ask his blessing.
18:05Dinesh, Prasad and Kumar have been joined by the fourth volunteer, Money, who makes the traditional offering to the Lord of Beginnings.
18:19Dinesh and the Mahuts will travel to Bengal in the northeast corner of India.
18:37Leaving the familiar world of Elephant Mountain for the first time in their lives, Dinesh and the Mahuts will travel to Bengal in the northeast corner of India.
18:47To them, it will be a completely foreign land.
18:51Here, they will not even speak the same language, although the problem faced by the local farmers will need little explaining.
19:21As evening approaches, fear builds.
19:27The farmers prepare for the worst, knowing the elephants, too, have a strategy.
19:33The herd will wait within the safety and dark shade of the forest until twilight before advancing on the rice paddies.
19:51Each village forms its own militia. Nobody knows whose field will be next.
20:04Often, one or two elephants will work as decoys,
20:20to distract and occupy the farmers while the herd raids a neighboring field.
20:35This is a battle in which there are no winners. Tonight, the farmers of one village successfully drive the elephants from their fields. But where do they go?
20:50The herd must eat. The problem simply moves to the next village. Once established in the rice paddies, it's almost impossible to dislodge them.
21:05All these farmers can do is wait until first light, when once again the herd will disappear, leaving a trail of destruction behind.
21:17Hmm?
21:19Besch Lobby 2021
21:32estable
21:43It has taken four days for the mahouts to reach their destination.
22:02Here in the north, the landscape is different.
22:05So too, the customs, the language, the food, the people.
22:13The torrential rains of the annual monsoon bring natural abundance.
22:24But where once there were thick forests full of wildlife, today there are rice paddies.
22:29The competition for living space has made the conflict between elephants and humans inevitable.
22:45Culling elephants might be an option elsewhere.
22:48But here in India, you cannot set out to kill the god you will pray to the next morning.
22:54With the arrival of the Karda elephant men, it's time to put a daring plan to the test.
23:12Dinesh, Prasad, Kumar and Mani have arrived at an auspicious moment.
23:18With the harvest comes the Hindu festival of Durga Puja.
23:34In every small town across the state, makeshift temples, facades of canvas and wood have sprung up in honor of the mother goddess.
23:42Craftsmen put the finishing touches to these clay idols.
23:48For Dinesh and the mahouts, Durga is a welcome, familiar face in what is otherwise a strange land.
23:55This goddess provides a vital key to explaining the importance of Ganesh and the elephant in Hindu mythology.
24:19One day when she was bathing, Durga instructed her son to guard her.
24:24The son was so devoted, he would not even let Shiva, his own father, pass.
24:30In a rage, Shiva, the god of destruction, chopped off his son's head.
24:35Durga was grief-stricken.
24:40Overcome by remorse, Shiva proclaimed that their son should have the head of the next animal to pass by.
24:46And so, from that day, their son, Ganesh, has carried the head of an elephant.
24:54It is hardly surprising that those who worship Durga will not harm her beloved son.
25:02Dr. K. arrived several weeks ago to set up the campsite where the captured elephants will be trained.
25:25He is pleased to greet the mahouts.
25:27He is pleased to greet the mahouts.
25:28In India, people have been training elephants for 5,000 years.
25:46But before you can train an elephant, you first have to catch it.
25:50Dr. K.'s elephant men of the south may be considered experts on training.
25:55But for capture, these men are the undisputed champions.
25:59They come from the neighboring northeastern state of Assam.
26:03They arrived with their own specially trained elephants known as Kunkis, chosen for their speed and courage.
26:12Dr. K.'s elephant men of the south may be considered as Kunkis, chosen for their own specially trained.
26:30Dr. K.'s elephant men of the south may be considered as Kunkis, chosen for their own specially trained.
26:35In the surrounding villages, word quickly
27:05spreads as the Khunqis are transported to the worst affected areas.
27:22Even the Khunqis arouse apprehension among the locals.
27:26Trained or not, they are still elephants.
27:28As the Khunqis are unloaded, the Assamese Mahoots are viewed with suspicion.
27:48These farmers have no elephant training tradition of their own and they wonder, will the Mahoots
27:53rid the village of the raiding herds or will they further enrage the Elephant God?
28:15The Assamese method of capture is in theory very simple.
28:19Armed with heavy jute nooses, the Mahoots ride into the wild herd.
28:25With their feet wedged tightly into the harness, the Mahoots lasso selected animals.
28:31Each Khunqis is controlled by two men.
28:47The one at the back acts as the accelerator, the one at the front steers, selects and throws
28:53the noose.
29:12Each elephant will eat two to six hundred pounds a day.
29:15A wild herd of thirty-five animals eats about ten tons of green fodder or several acres of rice.
29:31These forests may look green, but they have been overgrazed by domestic goats and cattle
29:37and degraded for timber and firewood.
29:40By contrast, the adjacent rice fields offer plenty of food for a hungry elephant.
29:49Only particular animals are targeted.
29:51A mother and two small calves are passed by as unsuitable.
29:56A mother and two small calves are targeted.
30:05Known killers are singled out, as are the dominant females and the teenagers,
30:10who are less difficult to catch and easier to train.
30:16Elephants have poor eyesight.
30:19So long as the Mahoots remain on top of their Khunqis, they simply are not registered by the elephant.
30:25They move freely into an unsuspecting herd.
30:31Initial curiosity changes to panic as the wild elephants realize something is wrong.
30:36But it's already too late and struggling only tightens the noose.
30:49There's often a desperate tug of war as the other members of the herd try to rescue the noosed animals
30:56and drag them away from the Mahoots.
31:05A shot above their heads frightens off those who have not already fled.
31:19A shot above their heads.
31:21A shot above their heads.
31:22A shot above their heads and falls.
31:25A shot above their heads is projected now.
31:27Thenadir is expected of the Quantity-
31:45The capture party returns after nightfall, frog marching their prisoners back to the
31:53camp and the awaiting giant wooden cages.
32:08The trained elephants comfort and calm their bewildered captive as the stockade is blessed
32:13and ritually purified.
32:16The Mahouts hope the god Ganesh will see these captures as an attempt to save both human
32:21and elephant lives.
32:23The new elephants are measured for height.
32:26The average Indian female stands at between 8 to 9 feet.
32:30Males rarely exceed 11.
32:32As a somewhat unlikely rule of thumb, an elephant's height is three times the circumference of
32:38its front foot.
32:39Whatever sympathy they may have for their prisoners, the Kunkis are trained for a particular purpose
33:01and push the new arrival into the stockade.
33:10Its life in the wild has just ended.
33:16Dr. K's elephant men are also having to settle into these new surroundings.
33:31Money is illiterate and so dictates a letter to his wife back in Annamalai.
33:36We all arrived safely.
33:39Apart from doctor, nobody can understand anything we say and we can understand them.
33:46Everything is ready for us to start now.
33:49You should see this place.
33:51Its like a prison camp.
33:54The Mahouts from Assam have done all the catching and it is up to us to train the elephants and
34:00show how it is done in the south.
34:03I have been given a tusker, about 14 years old.
34:10Kumar has got a huge elephant.
34:15It killed three people in the rice fields.
34:18It looks like a lot of trouble.
34:22Prasad is in charge of a small female.
34:37She is called Kansavati.
34:45It is the key to the Mahout's authority and so once the pairings are made, each Mahout will
34:51feed only his particular animal.
34:55The elephant must get to know him.
34:57As smell is the elephant's keenest sense, the Mahout will not wash with soap until the
35:02job is done.
35:09Danesh's job is to fetch and carry, keep out of the way and observe.
35:14He is here to learn the ropes.
35:30So how long will the training take?
35:32A very young animal can be taught the basic commands within a couple of weeks.
35:37But for an almost fully grown bull like this, at least two months.
35:44Perhaps longer.
35:45Training something as large and intelligent as a wild elephant is a difficult and dangerous
36:13business.
36:14It cannot be achieved until the elephant submits to the will of the Mahout, whose first task
36:20is to establish who is boss.
36:25This is not a job for the soft-hearted.
36:44THIRD DOOR
36:53THIRD DOOR
36:58What the, what the, what the, what the, what the.
37:28The initial process of training an elephant can best be described according to the principle
37:35of the carrot and the stick, in this case a piece of sugar cane.
37:44The elephant is only allowed to take food directly into its mouth, never by its trunk.
37:50This simple rule is like tying the hands of a prisoner.
37:59By carefully placing the cane just out of reach, the mahout gradually conditions his animal.
38:05If it wants the reward, it must automatically obey the instruction.
38:10It's a battle of wills, as Dr. K explains.
38:14Now we are using the softwares and giving him some rewards.
38:20So alternately using the harsher methods and softwares, the animal in the course of time
38:23understands that if he obeys, he will get the reward, if he doesn't obey he gets the thrashing.
38:32Now the mahout is using the very softwares and trying to make friends with the animal.
38:49No matter how much training a bull elephant receives, it will always remain unpredictable
38:55and potentially very dangerous.
38:57Not just to people, but to other elephants too.
39:00This is Jatra, a forestry tusker.
39:12He's been violently attacked by another domestic bull.
39:16Jatra is lucky to be alive.
39:18Another inch and he would have been disemboweled.
39:21Fortunately, Jatra is now in good hands and will survive.
39:35Uncomplaining, he allows Dr. K to clean and attend to his wounds.
39:50In the meantime, Jatra's attacker, Chandra, has escaped into the forest.
39:58As suspected, Chandra has gone into a state known as must.
40:02It's accompanied by a secretion of fluids from the temporal gland and a dramatic surge in hormone
40:08levels.
40:14All male elephants experience must to varying degrees.
40:18In some, it causes lethargy.
40:20In others, sexual arousal.
40:23In some, berserk blind rage.
40:26Jatra was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
40:36The operation has taken four hours without anesthetic.
40:41Though in great pain, Jatra seems to understand that the doctor is doing this for his own good.
40:47It's not the first time the doctor has had to attend to Jatra, the survivor of many battles.
41:14A veteran, a wounded soldier.
41:16A veteran, a wounded soldier.
41:21A veteran, a wounded soldier.
41:28A veteran, a wounded soldier.
41:33Despite the recent drama, Dr. K's training program is going as planned.
41:40It's been 10 days since the captures.
41:47The stockades will now be narrowed by crossbars, making them smaller in preparation to teach
41:53the elephants a new set of commands.
42:14Since the recent captures, crop rating has dramatically declined.
42:30Out of a population of about 70 elephants, 12 have been taken from the wild, enough to
42:36disrupt the raiding behavior of the herd.
42:39In the villages, the atmosphere has lightened noticeably.
42:51A fresh hibiscus flower at a village shrine seems to mark a truce between the elephants and
43:12the farmers.
43:13As expected, the big bull is proving to be difficult.
43:16Even with the narrowed cage, Kumar is still struggling to teach him the first command,
43:22juke, to go down.
43:26Prasad is having an easier time teaching Kansavadi the next level, to go forward and back.
43:44Prasad is having an easier time teaching Kansavadi the next level, to go forward and back.
43:49Prasad is having an easier time teaching Kansavadi the next level.
44:01She's also on her way to mastering the command, bite, to sit.
44:06Prasad is having an easier time teaching Kansavadi the next level.
44:12Aина ...
44:14Aina ...
44:17Kansavani ...
44:19Kansavah ..
44:20Kansavani ...
44:21the sound ...
44:23の主 ...
44:24Kansavani ...
44:28Aina ...
44:31her body Heb ..
44:33Kansavani ...
44:36He's living with overاثens ...
44:37Over Dr. K's long career, he has overseen the capture of 200 elephants. Officially retired from the Forestry Service, this will be his last operation. It's time, he says, for the next generation to take over and adapt old traditions to the changing needs and circumstances of modern India.
45:07No matter how successful his training program is, Dr. K knows it can only address the immediate problems of crop rating. It cannot solve any long-term issues. Humans and elephants are now competing for survival. In the end, it has come down to a handful of rice. Who eats and who goes hungry?
45:37Up until now, the Mahouts have had no physical contact with the elephants, except through the safety of the stockade bars.
45:59Prasad is now confident enough to climb under Kansavati's back for the first time. It marks a turning point in the relationship.
46:14From now on, foot signals will be as important as verbal commands. The experienced Mahout needs say very little for his elephant to understand.
46:32Next to the primate, I would consider the elephants as the most intelligent animals. A well-trained elephant, the Mahout does not talk to the animal. For a mere touch and his leg movement, the animal knows what exactly is expected of him. It's a sort of a mental telepathy.
46:54It's been a month since Jatra was attacked. Under Dr. K's care, he is making a full recovery.
47:09Much better than eggs.
47:13Dr. K has treated many elephants, but none like his favorite, the Inspector General, known as I.G.
47:19We had this Elephant Inspector General. He was once badly attacked by two wild tuskers. He sustained about 19 injuries all over the body, particularly around the head region. He had some deep penetrating wounds.
47:33So I had to stand on his tusks and dress the injuries. And this animal used to patiently bear with my hand in him, remove the pieces of bones and the flesh.
47:50With all that he used to bear it stoically. And unfortunately, Inspector General was killed by Walter's car.
47:58He was just like a brother to me. I felt as if one of the family members died. But the way he lived, he died. I feel personal loss.
48:19Because my association with I.G. was nearly for 30 years.
48:26He was really an Inspector General among the elephants. Noble animal.
48:31With the end in sight, the mahouts of South India are becoming increasingly homesick.
48:50Have you received the money from Forest Department? It won't be long before we can get the elephants out.
49:04Today, Prasad did puja and got into the crawl with Kansavati.
49:09The training is nearly over. And we will all be home soon.
49:16Next month comes to ump.
49:37Armed only with a stick, Prasad gets into a ring with an opponent literally 20 times his weight.
49:44times his weight. Here is an animal that could break a man in half but instead
49:50submits to his will.
50:14Money helps Prasad fit the chain used to control all domestic elephants. Soon it
50:34will be time to release Kansavadi from the stockade.
51:04Dr. Krishnamurti worries about the future for both the elephants of India and for the Mahuts.
51:11With their work almost finished, he talks to Dinesh.
51:15It's not like the old days when there was plenty of work for Mahuts. You must think about
51:24your future. You must go back to school and get an education. Learn about something apart
51:30from elephants. For money and your brother and cousin, it's too late to start again. This
51:36is all they know. But for you, it's not. I'll make the arrangements.
51:54One last thing needs to be done. The stockades which have been their prisons for the last
51:58two months are dismantled around the once wild elephants.
52:05It's an important moment and no chances can be taken. They seek to appease Ganesh, the elephant
52:06god, for Kansavadi's capture and ask for help. They seek to appease Ganesh, the elephant
52:07god. They seek to appease Ganesh, the elephant god, for Kansavadi's capture and ask for help.
52:12his understanding.
52:13It's an important moment and no chances can be taken. They seek to appease Ganesh, the elephant
52:31god, the elephant god, for Kansavadi's capture and ask for his understanding. They need to
52:47protect his sacred creatures, but they also need to control them.
53:13This is Dr. K's last capture operation. But capturing and training problem elephants is
53:19only a small step towards saving them as India's human population continues to burgeon.
53:26This is a great deal.
53:27This is Dr. K's last.
53:31I want to take a look at the
53:50As Dinesh goes to school, he takes with him an inheritance which stretches back 5,000 years,
54:11a partnership between humans and elephants.
54:20And in the end, this ancient partnership may offer the best hope for the future of India's wild elephants.
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