They can be your ele-friends

Elephant whisperer Anand Shinde has calmed, rescued and rehabilitated numerous elephants in the past 12 years and his The Trunk Call Foundation works towards creating awareness on these magnificent creatures who are the “architects and engineers” of the jungle

“If you keep them in your hearts, they will give you elephant-sized love but if you attack them, then you are in equally big trouble,” is what elephant whisperer Anand Shinde loves to say when you ask him about elephant personalities and their temperament. For farmers, they are known as trouble-makers who rampage through their fields; for the devout they are a real physical incarnation of Ganesh, the elephant god; in temples, they are used as mere props for religious festivities but for those like Shinde, who work with them closely, elephants are beautiful, intelligent and extremely loving animals.

Shinde is a photojournalist-turned-elephant whisperer who rumbles in tones that elephants can catch, understand and respond to. He even talks to them in Marathi and while there’s little evidence that the elephants understand words, they understand his rumbles, his tone and tenor and his vibrations. His first brush with elephants happened in 2012 when he was transferred to Kerala as a photographer with an English daily newspaper. A senior photojournalist advised him to shoot the magnificent elephant and Shinde started making trips to the forests. And that’s where love struck.

He started communicating with the elephants by using sounds, listening to them and devised a communication method that only he and the animal can understand. His first experience with talking to an elephant was in 2012 when he was assigned to communicate with two elephant calves, Krushna and Ganga at an elephant centre in Kodanad in Kerala. The communication was successful and Shinde chose to give up his career for a new profession that has seen him live in forests, away from the bustling life of a journalist in Mumbai.

What is elephant whispering?

It is communication with elephants. On a photoshoot assignment, I started observing the behavioural patterns of elephants. I heard the sounds they make which are rumbling sounds and when I started rumbling, they could communicate with me.

How was your first brush with communication?

I had to meet baby elephants Krishna and Ganga at an elephant centre in Kodanad. While Krishna made friends with me instantly and would play with me all day long, Ganga would get possessive each time my wife called. They have the same expressions and emotions as us. Once an elephant got upset with me because my wife had accompanied me and he turned around and stood with his back to me. For them, I am entirely theirs and they don’t like to share my attention with anyone else.

What is the law of the jungle?

When we, as lay people, say that they can hear an ‘animal call’ is nothing but communication among animals and birds in a jungle. It’s the communication of the deer to everyone else; it is about monkeys cautioning all others who can become prey for tigers and lions. They communicate with each other in a bid to warn and caution of the approaching danger. They have beautiful relationships and communication patterns in the jungle where everything is in sync with each other. I’ve seen the sambal deer stand near elephants and they are friends. But carnivorous animals avoid elephants. In the jungle, you can see tigers walk parallel to elephants but they usually don’t cross paths. If an elephant is drinking water, tigers will move away. Tigers don't kill elephants even if they are weak. That’s how the jungle law is. There are ethics and rules.

The elephant is known as the architect and the engineer of the jungle. Why is that?

The are the architects and the engineers because an entire ecosystem is dependent on the elephant. Just one piece of elephant dung contains 17 to 7,000 species of microorganisms that act as excellent manure. When an elephant walks, the pugmarks loosen the mud on the ground and earthworms, bees and butterflies can thrive there. Similarly, there are numerous species that thrive because of elephants. If the elephant dies or leaves a jungle, the ecosystem will be impacted.

What are elephants like temperamentally?

Elephants rarely fight amongst themselves. They have a matriarchal system where multiple females come together to take care of the baby and never fight. Elephants are also very emotional and expressive. If you give them love, they will reward you with immense affection. But why do they become angry and aggressive? Only when people attack them. For animals, attack is the best form of defence when they are threatened. Mahouts are known to beat and poke them. There is a hulla gang that’s used in some parts who throw firecrackers or attack elephants. When these animals get angry, forest authorities chain them and then that naturally leads to a build up of anger and aggression. I am the only person in the world to have calmed down a Grade 4 angry elephant.

Do you ever feel fear in the jungle?

The only animal to fear is humans. I have never felt fear. In Kerela, I was once called to ask a lioness to reveal where she had hidden her cubs. This was to ensure the cubs were healthy. I spoke to her in Marathi; she obviously didn’t understand the words but she understood my vibrations and energy and what I was saying. After some time, she brought her cubs out for the forest officers to see. I was also called to calm down an angry tiger who was in a cage. In the jungle, I have walked with elephants with tigers barely 50 meters away. I respect their space and they respect mine.

It's said that elephants have a massive memory. Is that true?

They can recognise you even from seven kilometers away and can remember you even if you meet after several years. I had once got a call from forest officers saying that the elephant had given up on life. I went there to condolences the death of two of his friends because elephants always condole the death of their loved ones and from their herd. They spend 24 hours near the dead and cover the body with grass, leaves and flowers so that no other animal should eat it. Once the body starts decomposing, they leave. If a baby elephant dies, the mother sits by its side for a week without eating. And if elephants ever come back to the site where one of their own has died, they look for the bones and hug them. That’s how they are as animals.

Can the elephant-human conflict be resolved?

We see it happening where we have trespassed into the jungles and destroyed their natural habitat. Elephants venture into fields in search of food and water; they have no interest in eating crops or causing destruction. People then throw crackers at them or shoot them and then they get aggressive. To counter this, we need a holistic approach where we keep their areas safe with the natural habitat. By blending scientific methods with local engagement, we ensure harmony between humans, elephants, and their ecosystems.

You’ve worked on a research paper – “Communicating with Elephants – A Discovery" at the International Symposium on Ecology and Health Management of Asiatic Elephants. What are the key findings of your research?

The alarming statistics reveal that one elephant loses its life every 15 minutes, putting this majestic species at serious risk of extinction.