The Elephant Whisperers

I am Kattunayakan.

Kattunayakan means "Kings of the forest."

This is my home, where I belong...

where the wild animals roam free.

This is also the land where my ancestors lived for generations.

Oh, my dear.

Did you sleep, my child?

How are you?

Come. Come, come.

Come here. Come closer.

Come, come.

- - Come.

Come here.

Come here, my dear.

Come, come. Come here, come here, come here, come here.

Oh, my dear.

Oh, my dear, Raghu, my baby.

Come. Come. Hey, come.

How are you? Very good, very good. Come.

Come.

Come.

Come, come. Come.

Come.

Lie down.

Get up. Get up.

Come. Come. Come. Come.

Let's go home.

Bomman.

Bomman.

I'm trying to light the fire.

I'm not going to marry someone who's covered with ash.

When I arrived, the baby elephant was in a lot of pain.

His tail had been bitten off by stray dogs,

and his open wounds were infested with maggots.

Raghu's mother got electrocuted and died instantly.

Due to a prolonged drought,

his herd had wandered into a village in search of food and water.

They tried to reunite Raghu with his herd,

but they failed.

I wasn't officially an elephant caretaker.

When I first met the baby,

he was tugging at my clothes like a child,

and I felt his love.

I decided to give all my love to this baby.

I am very happy that the forest department

assigned Bellie to work with me to care for Raghu.

She is the only woman currently assigned to care for baby elephants in Tamil Nadu.

Look over there beneath the tree.

There it is. There is one more walking down there.

When Raghu arrived here, he was in bad shape.

Everyone thought he wouldn't survive,

but I had full faith that he will, and cherish a very good life.

No one knew if Raghu would even survive.

He was in such a bad state.

It was a long and difficult process to cure Raghu.

But now it feels great to see him healthy.

I am really happy.

For almost three years, we have been taking care of Raghu.

This place is an elephant rehabilitation camp.

Orphaned, abandoned, and displaced wild elephants

are brought here, and we take care of them.

My grandfather and my father looked after elephants,

and I became an elephant caregiver the day my father died.

Raghu, I have been looking for your bell! How did you lose it?

You dropped it in the water?

Luckily, I found it in the river. Don't lose it again.

They wear a bell so we can hear them if they get lost in the forest

because we would lose them,

and they will not be able to fend for themselves.

Raghu has a friend called Krishna.

Raghu is learning to pluck grass.

Raghu got a thorn stuck on his tongue,

and Krishna removed it.

Watching Raghu with Krishna brings us happiness.

There is only so much we can teach them.

And there are things they can only learn from one of their own kind.

A reason for leaving them in the jungle

is to make them independent and live a good life.

Are you eating soap? Haven't you tasted soap before?

You are putting water on me. Don't splash like that.

Oh, my dear.

- - Who is it?

Who do you want?

Oh, my dear child.

Who is this? Who is the best elephant?

Is it you? Is it you?

Who is the best elephant?

Whose darling is this? Who is this? Come, Raghu.

We have become a family around Raghu,

and that is the reason he survived.

Bringing up Raghu helps us forget about our worries.

I have had many losses in my life.

A tiger killed my ex-husband.

Since then, I was scared of forest.

I get petrified when I see a tiger.

I am a tribal woman,

and our people come from the heart of the forest.

For us, the well-being of the forest is all that matters.

We walk barefoot within it.

This is our way of showing respect to it.

We live off the forest, but we also protect it.

We don't take anything more than necessary.

Our people do not fear elephants.

That's why we have been working with them for generations.

I have learned over the many years of working with elephants

that they are very intelligent and emotional beings.

But working with elephants is dangerous in so many ways.

I got stabbed by my big tusker a while ago.

I cannot work with large elephants anymore.

Come here. -

Here it is.

That is why I feel getting Raghu was a gift from God.

I want to do my best for him. I consider him a godsend.

And I want to do my best in caring for him.

Go there! -

I feel like I'm his mother.

Drink from here.

Everything about him is like a human, except that he cannot talk.

Recently my daughter died.

Losing a child is devastating.

When I cried, Raghu wiped my tears with his trunk...

and the small gesture comforted me.

I feel he really understands everything.

I remember what my daughter was like at Raghu's age.

Taking care of Raghu reminds me of my daughter.

Look how naughty you are today. You are very naughty.

Bring all the sugarcane here.

I don't think he wants the millet ball today.

But we first have to give him the millet.

If you give it to him like that, he will eat it.

He wants dried coconut and jaggery.

I don't like this habit of yours.

He just wants coconut.

This is how he was when he was young.

We take turns to feed him.

Come here and feed him! Come!

Why aren't you eating, naughty boy?

Why didn't you eat when she was feeding you?

The rains have come.

This will make the grass grow for you.

Raghu will get so much grass to eat.

Come, Raghu.

Come here, under the umbrella.

Come. Come.

The rain has stopped. Let us have something to eat.

I bought some snacks.

You feed me and I'll feed you. -

You will bite my fingers.

Don't talk like that.

Raghu, my child, wait!

I will give you some, I'm coming.

- I'm so full. - Boil the water.

He's sleepy.

Go and light the fire.

Wait, it is almost ready.

Don't try to pull the tube.

It will break.

Are you sleepy?

[MEN CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY IN THE DISTANCE]

Stand still. Don't eat it. Stop.

Are you trying to eat the garland?

You are really very naughty.