A photojournalist uses his rare bond with elephants to train mahouts

Photojournalist Anand Shinde was transferred by his employer to Kerala where an experience photographing elephants changed his life. Shinde, who had never come in close proximity to elephants earlier, realised that he had a natural bond with the animal, and baby elephants especially would start playing and communicating with him. He then took on a photo project through which he spent a couple of months studying their behaviour and through close observation developed a sense of understanding towards the animal.

Shinde has many a story to tell about his tryst that began in 2012 and the many animals he has calmed and comforted. He has been at times called to calm animals who have been hurt and have not responded to their mahouts and have attacked doctors trying to treat them.

Shinde says there are very few mahouts that train elephants with love and kindness. There are many cases when mahouts have been reprimanded for being cruel to animals and for beating them with sticks and even poking them in the eye. He feels that basic mahout training needs to change and that even forest officers in areas where elephants are present need to be sensitised and trained.

Shinde now has put this connection he shares with elephants to use and has been training mahouts to change their approach towards rehabilitating and training elephants. “I have been conducting workshops for mahouts to make them understand that certain behavioural traits that they believed were auspicious were actually signs of the elephant communicating that something was not right. I have met with a lot of resistance from them as some of the senior trainers feel insulted that an outsider is coming to teach them how to do their job. However, once they see how the elephants react to me they sometimes change their opinion,” says Shinde.

Shinde has created enclosures for elephants to roam freely across Kerala and also taught them how to play a version of football that keeps them active instead of being tied up all day.

He has started a foundation called TrunkCall that works for the betterment of elephants.