Senthil Kumaran

Senthil Kumaran is an independent visual storyteller from South India. He holds an engineering degree in Computer Science but an immense interest in visual arts from his childhood led him to pursue a full-time career in photography. His works focused on social, environmental issues with a personal approach.

Over the past 8 years, his work has turned into Environmental & Wildlife Projects.

Senthil Kumaran is currently working on various reserves in India, to documenting his longtime project of Human & Animal conflict issues. Notable among them his documentation of various marine ecology and the underlying issues in the Gulf of Mannar biosphere, a photo story on the illegal animal trade in Cambodia, and more recently his documentary on captive wild elephants in South India. He has also been involved in developing interpretationcentres for wildlife sanctuaries and has made various conservation films.

Senthil Kumaran has won multiple awards from international organizations like POYi (International Picture of the Year), World Report Award, Istanbul Photo Awards, WWF, Pano, IUCN Melvita Nature Image Awards, UNESCO, TAPSA scholarship.

In 2007, he won the “Geographical Photographer of the Year Award” from Royal Geographic Society, London.

He also received the “Hope Françoise Demulder Grant” from Angkor Photography Festival, Cambodia, 2014.

He has been selected for the “World Press Photo” Talent Program 6×6 Asia Region, 2019, Netherlands.

Tamed Tuskers

A rapid growth in India's development and the human population has slashed the forest vegetation at a devastating rate of 1.5 million hectares in the last 20 years. Such anthropogenic pressure within and around elephant habitats has also led to the loss of their traditional corridors of movement. Surviving in the fragmented habitat that they have at their disposal in India today necessitates crossing human-dominated landscapes. In India, more than 80% of the elephant corridors have been encroached by farmlands and various human mediated activities. The cultivation of palatable crops in the fringe areas attracts wild elephants. Such physical rapprochement generates everyday conflict, especially devastate crops, destroy fragile homes & accidentally kill villagers.

The elephants have increasingly become victims to poisoning and illegally fenced electrocuted power cables placed in these migration corridors to avoid their invasion. In last 10 years, around 630 elephants lost their lives due to electrocution and in the last 5 years, approximately 2300 people have died because of elephant attacks. Every year rising incidents of conflicts have become a source of worry for Governments. These conflicts also create direct clashes between people and the Forest department.

In order to mitigate the issues, the government capture and translocate the problematic (man slaughtering) wild elephants to the taming camps. The camps save the habitual crop raiding elephants from human dominated landscape, helps to instill a positive attitude towards elephants among the people who live in close quarters with them and to enlighten the community about the need for coexistence with these gentle giants. The elephant camps use men from the Kurumba tribe among others to tame these elephants through their traditional techniques.

For over centuries, the Kurumbas have had a close association with the Asiatic elephants. Primarily inhabiting the Western Ghats of Southern India, their knowledge and expertise in working with elephants have been passed on through generations. The tamed Tuskers, or Kumkis, are in turn used to tame and train newly captured elephants from the wild. Kumkis are also very effective in leading wild elephants that have strayed into human habitation, back into the wild. The Kumkis are a part of the Kurumba's family, where man and beast work together. Through their work, now the Kurumbas have ensured a reduction in human-elephant conflict situations and poaching.

Jambu - Captured in 1986

Jambu, a tamed wild elephant bathing at the river. Water massaging is one of the most important traditional taming method. Kurumba tribes go through a long process to tame and train the elephants, eventually earning their trust and forming a relationship of respect between man and beast.

Vijay - Born in 1971

Vijay and his mahout in the Moyar river, Western Ghats. Elephant camps are always situated in forest and riversides for ease of access and to keep the elephants close to their original habitats.

Chinnasuruli - Captured in 2016

Chinnasuruli during his taming process in Bombax elephant camp, Mudhumali. He had killed 3 villagers near Cudaloor, Nilgiris just prior to being captured and brought to the camp.

Kamatchi - Captured in 1960

Generally, the mahout spends almost 3 hours every morning and evening massaging the elephant in water after which the Elephants are taken back to the camp where it will be fed finger millet, rice, sugarcane, jaggery and coconut. This routine makes the wild tusker a happy and calm animal.

Krishna - Captured in 2013

A wild elephant which was captured for taming may come out of the kraal anywhere between two to six months to live the “free life”. The chains attached to their legs will not be removed for the rest of their life and they spend their entire day with their mahout in the camp.

Senthilvadivu - Captured in 1971

Throughout the process, no sharp tools or weapons are used. The Kurumbas only use a thin stick to touch and communicate with the animal.

Jambu - Captured in 1986

Tuskers spend their entire life span with a single mahout and don't get accustomed to any other mahout. Mahouts also spend most of their life with a single tusker. Before they undertake to adopt and tame a tusker, mahouts perform their traditional rituals and pray to their gods.

Bharathi - Captured in 2013

During the process of taming the captured elephant, the animal is constantly exposed to humans and other tamed elephants. They also touch the elephant with their hand, with leaves or branches while talking to it. The mahouts talk continuously throughout this routine with the tusker to familiarise the elephant to human voices.

Mahout Ketthan

Apart from Kurumbas, other tribes like Kaattu Nayakkars and Malasars also get engaged in taming the elephants in the Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu.

Mahout Bomman

Even though they can get jobs and good salaries working in Hindu temples in urban areas caring for temple elephants, the tribes almost never leave their original homelands.

Mahout Mari

Some older mahouts care for their tuskers like they would for their own children, if not more.

Mahout Maran

In order to train the tuskers, the mahouts use a special language to communicate/ command the tuskers. There are about 80 words used by mahouts for commanding the elephants.

Sumangala - Captured in 1988

Elephants that are caught and tamed in the camps are let into the forest every evening. The elephants roam around the forest freely and get the opportunity to mingle with other wild elephants in the forest. They return by themselves or are brought back by the mahouts to the camp in the morning.

Santhosh - Born in 1971

Santhosh, a 48-year-old captive elephant, was born in the Mudhumalai elephant camp in 1971. His mother was captured from a conflict zone. Currently, he is the biggest tusker in the camp.

Moorthy – Captured in 1998

Moorthy, a 55-year-old Makna elephant was captured from a conflict zone. According to the official report, he got into a village in Kerala and Tamil Nadu border and killed around 23 people. Since this became a continuing threat and due to the heavy loss of human lives, the forest officials decided to shoot the tusker. Villagers in Kerala also chased and made multiple attempts to shoot Moorthy using their local guns. Finally, Moorthy was caught in Tamil Nadu by the Kurumbas with their traditional technique and great caution. The seriously injured tusker was eventually brought to the Mudhumalai elephant camp with multiple bullet wounds. He was given medical assistance and tamed in the camp. After one year of treatment and training Moorthy has come out as one of the most intelligent and calm elephants in the camp.

Krishna - Died in 2016

Krishna, a 11-year-old sub-adult elephant died of an unknown health issue in the Mudhumalai elephant camp. He was captured in 2013 from a conflict zone. Krishna was captured along with 4 other elephants (his mother and siblings). A year before in 2015, his brother too had passed away.

Wasim - Born in 1978

Kumki elephants are referred to as police elephants. They are a special group of elephants that get trained in the camps and possess special characteristics compared to other tamed elephants. These Kumkis have a close relationship with the Mahouts who use them to drive away the wild elephants that enter the farmlands or human habitats back into the forest. They are also used by Kurumbas to catch the elephants that pose a threat to human life and train them. Additionally, they are used to go into the dense forest for patrolling to capture the man-eating tigers through tranquilization.

Anna - Captured in 1971

Generally, tuskers are highly aggressive and don't listen to anyone when they become “musth” (a period when there is a large rise in their reproductive hormones) but some elephants obey the mahouts even during such periods.

Kaleem - Captured in 1972

Kaleem who is a 54-year-old celebrity in his camp, is a Kumki elephant. He was captured in 1972 and has been part of almost 60 successful operations in various conflict zones.

Pari- Captured year unknown

Around 228 elephants have been born in the Mudhumalai elephant camp in the last 100 years.

Sujay - Born in 1971

Sometimes trained elephants are used for tourism safaris, removal of weeds and fallen trees, and for patrolling during the monsoon season when it is difficult for vehicles to enter muddy areas of the forest.

Udhayan - Born in 1998

Kurumbas have ensured a reduction in man-elephant conflict situations and poaching. With their profound understanding of elephant behaviour, they control and train rogue elephants which then become instrumental in conservation efforts in the region.