After Oscar win, tourists throng Tamil Nadu camp to see stars of The Elephant Whisperers

Tourists are thronging the Theppakadu Elephant Camp in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu to meet the baby elephant featured in this year’s Oscar winner The Elephant Whisperers. The short documentary followed a family that adopted two baby elephants.

Directed by Kartiki Gonsalves and produced by Guneet Monga, The Elephant Whisperers won the Oscar in the Best Documentary Short Film category on Monday.

Besides meeting with 'Raghu' and 'Ammu', the two elephant calves, the couple is witnessing a visitor rush since the Oscars win. The documentary shows that the two orphaned elephants were adopted by Bomman and Bellie, members of Tamil Nadu’s Kattunayakan tribe.

“I am from London, we visited here and got to know that two baby elephants from here won an Oscar last night. It is nice to see them, and I really enjoyed seeing them. Elephants are my favourite animal. I am very lucky to see them today,” a tourist told the news agency ANI.

But it's not just international visitors setting a date with the elephants. Domestic travellers are also hoping to catch up with internationally famous elephants. “This is the first time I am visiting the Theppakadu Elephant camp. The only idea is to meet the elephants Raghu and Ammu and, if possible, chat with Bomman and Bellie,” a tourist from Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram told the news agency IANS.

The Theppakadu Elephant Camp was established in 1917 and currently houses 28 elephants. These elephants are trained to become kumki or koomkie, tamed elephants that are then used to herd, calm and capture wild elephants that need to be shepherded away from crowded areas or in need of medical aid. While the practice has been criticised by some activists, the use of kumki elephants is prevalent in areas with a large number of the world’s largest land mammals.