'Elephant Whisperer’ of Chhattisgarh: Video Captures Man Gently Guiding Wild Elephants Back to Forest

RAIPUR: “Jao, jao… aage badho, jao babu, jungle mein jao… road pe khade nahi hote, acche bachhe hona!” — the words echo softly through the sal forest of Chhattisgarh, and in an astonishing moment of mutual understanding, a herd of wild elephants responds with gentle trumpets before turning away from the road to disappear into the trees. The man behind the voice is neither a mahout nor a wildlifer — he’s probably Chhattisgarh’s own ‘elephant whisperer’, a member of the Hathi Mitra Dal, a forest rescue and tracking team that monitors movement and well-being of wild pachyderms and also does 'munaadi' in villages when the herd is approaching. In a state where elephant movement often sparks panic, this moment stands out — a quiet conversation between man and a giant, reminding everyone that sometimes the wild doesn’t need to be tamed — only understood.This it for the first time that such an act was recorded in a video, and the 'elephant friend' Prakash Bhagat told TOI that it has happened a couple of times in the past too, like an injured elephant when called out for treatment, comes out of the forest listening to his voice. He said only few words of love spoken firmly, makes them understand. An elephant-behaviour expert in state Nitin Singhvi said, it's definitely possible that elephants strike a communication cord with humans if treated with love. Calling it a burning example, he stated that if it's true, then it calls for a study as well as training for other hathi mitra dal in dealing with wild elephants."It depends on the bonding between the elephant and human commanding him, there are example of Panchu Nayak of Odisha who communicates with tuskers and it's documented. If an elephants has saved you in its memory as a friend or foe, that stays with it till last, while elephant's memories travels till generations, it is believed," Singhvi said. Chhattisgarh has long been facing human-elephant conflict that led to death of hundreds of people, elephants and their calves. Often preconceived as 'aatanki' (terrorizing) and aggressive, it's not common that elephants are handled in such a manner, to which they also comply to words spoken through tone, patience, and empathy.The video recorded in Chhaal forest range in Raigarh district has captured this extraordinary interaction, showing how hathi mitra dal, with no weapons or fear, guide elephants back into the wild using only calm persuasion and familiarity.The video shows elephant herd standing on a pathway between forest and looking directly towards Prakash Bhagat's camera. Bhagat's command carried authority and a sense of trust of familiarity with each other across elephant corridors. With repeated persuasion, to go inside the forest and they can't stand on road, elephants turn around, respond by trumpeting and walk inside the forest. Bhagat can be listened in teh video telling his friend that the elephants know him. Dharamjaigarh DFO Jitendra Upadhyay told TOI that the video is the first documented instance showing how trained local teams have managed to establish a two-way communication with wild herds. "As the boys of hathi mitra dal are locals, the native elephants are familiar with their smell. But this needs to be repeatedly checked if tuskers are complying to the commands, then it would be a big," he said. The herd has 15 elephants while Chhaal range has over 44 pachyderms.Bhagat said that it's usually the sub-adult elephants who behave like teens and get aggressive over a slight poke, but otherwise, the elephants are peaceful animals