reported by, Prabhakar Tamilarasu
edited by: Pathikrit Sen Gupta
Last Update: March 17, 2023, 20:25 IST
Boman, who reached Theppakadu on Thursday morning, was happy to receive the new elephant calf. File Image/Twitter
Tamil Nadu tribal couple featured in award-winning short documentary now caring for another rescued elephant calf
Days after The Elephant Whisperers won an Oscar, Bowman and Bailey, the tribal couple featured in the short documentary, are cuddling another elephant calf. The animal was rescued from a crude well near Penagaram in Tamil Nadu’s Dharmapuri district about five days ago.
Raghu, one of the two calves featured in The Elephant Whispers, was orphaned in 2017 after his mother was electrocuted in Krishnagiri district. The calf was first looked after by the tribal couple before being shifted to other camps.
On Wednesday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin honored the couple and gave them a cash award of Rs 1 lakh.
A day after returning from Chennai to the Theppakadu elephant camp in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in Nilgiris district, the couple spotted another elephant calf sent by the state forest department.
After first aid, the calf was sent to Theppakadu Elephant Camp on Thursday evening, where it reached in the early hours of Friday.
Boman, who reached Theppakadu on Thursday morning, was happy to receive the new elephant calf. He said that he would take care of the calf like his own child. “That’s why I used to take care of any calf or elephant that came to the camp,” Bowman said.
Forest department officials said that the new rescued calf is yet to be named. “We are now focusing on the health of the calf. Once it recovers completely, we will consider naming the calf. Since Bomman and Bailey have experience, they will take care of this calf as well,” said a forest department official at Theppakadu camp.
Boman has been taking care of the elephant calf since it arrived at the camp and onlookers told News18 Tamil Nadu that he did not even have breakfast in the morning.
“How can you expect food from me when the calf is tired?” he asked reporters in Theppakadu, who were waiting for his response after the meeting with the chief minister.
According to forest department officials, the calf was treated for four days in Dharmapuri district before being brought to the camp. “At the camp, the calf is being treated with glucose and other food items to make it stable. Since it traveled for over six hours, it looks tired,” an official at the camp told News18 Tamil Nadu.
Bailey, along with Boman, has been taking care of the calf since Friday morning while doctors are monitoring it regularly.
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