Hi, I am @ganesh_rag an #elephant biologist and conservationist working with @ncfindia. I live and work in #Valparai. Today, I am going to be telling a story about two Asian #elephants who lived wild and free. Follow along!

Valparai is a little town at the heart of #Valparai plateau in the Anamalai hills, spread over 220 sq kms dominated by #tea and #coffee plantations surrounded by Protected Areas on all sides and a population of c. 70,000 people whose livelihood depends on the #plantations.

Brave, an adult female #elephant who we first saw in July 2017 was beginning to spend more time close to human habitations. Grazing in the #swamps or feeding on banana plants near houses. Image courtesy @sreedharelephas

A giant wild #elephant standing outside the house made people very uncomfortable. Usually, she did not show aggression when left alone and people could watch her from a distance, but when they tried to drive her away, things got difficult. Photo credit: Sedhumadhavan

In their anxiety, people took to chasing the #elephant using all the options they had. Pelting stones, shouting, bursting crackers, fire torches and the huge crowds that gathered to see the elephant made matters worse.

The #Forest Dept had a tough time managing the crowd. On one such instance, the youth began pelting stones. In the commotion that followed, an elderly man in the crowd was charged by the #elephant and killed. Video credit:Sedumadhavan

This angered the people and protests broke out to drive the elephant with Kumkis. Here is part 1 of a #video that shows how complicated things can get when #elephants are close to houses. Video Credits: Sedhumadhavan

Due to pressure from the public, Kumkis were brought in from #Topslip and the #elephant was chased relentlessly day and night in a desperate attempt to drive her into the #Forest Reserve. Brave hid in the thickets or slid down slopes to quickly get away from the Kumkis.

She would wait until dark to sneak past the houses, quickly feeding on plantain and soft grass before the drives restarted at daybreak. On one such drive, she was forced into a raging #river and was swept away. She struggled to get on to land but then collapsed and died.

Here is an #elephant that struggled to cope with people and vice versa for about a month in the estates of #Valparai. But there is hope. Contd...

Monica, was one of the #elephants who we @ncfindia had monitored for a long time. She was a senior member of a herd that was quite famous in #Valparai. She was named after the estate she was first seen in by my colleagues.

Monica & her herd moved across the plateau every year along #riverine #forest patches. They moved fast and quietly in the dead of night. Early on, we would realize they had moved based on the damages caused to buildings which stored food grains.that

It was not hard to figure out who had caused the damage when we saw them the next morning (note the evidence on the forehead).
#elephants #Valparai

With age catching up, Monica spent her time alone and continued her movement across the plateau at a slower pace. She once disappeared for a while and returned with injuries on her ear, mouth and looked much weaker than when we had last seen her. Photo Credit: Silamban

She recovered slowly and continued to spend time with her herd and many other elephants on the plateau.
#elephants #Valparai

She began spending more time around human habitations feeding on plantain/ jackfruits.Damage to buildings reduced & people began to tolerate her. The locals named her ‘Singari’ the beautiful one. With time, people became more tolerant and even fond of her. Photo @sreedharelephas

Here is a video of one such incident where an estate worker feels the love and tries to feed her a jackfruit. She is still a wild #elephant and obviously would not let anyone get too close.

Ecologist @sreedharelephas and I spent most of our days in field watching her and she was one of the individuals who tolerated our presence at close proximity. We learnt a lot from her.

From being an #elephant who was feared to becoming an elephant that people of all ages loved, it was an incredible journey we got to witness. Monica spent time with her herd in December 2017 and moved on to a different part of the plateau

Monica breathed her last on 21 Jan ‘18 when she was gored by another wild elephant. Yesterday marks 3 years of her passing. People gathered from various parts of the Plateau; tears rolled down the cheek of many who admired her as they exchanged memorable encounters with her.

To us @ncfindia, she will always be an #elephant who taught us so much and won the hearts of the people who once feared her. She is dearly missed but her herd continues to roam the #Anamalai hills like she once did.

We’ve now heard stories of 2 #elephants who shared the same landscape but had entirely different fates.We learnt how familiarity and fondness are often the solutions for coexistence. Every #wild #animal is a fascinating individual,if only we give them a chance to share it with us

Thank you @NatureIn_Focus for this opportunity. You can follow & support our work by @ncfindia here: https://www.ncf-india.org/ 
My instagram handle: Ganeshraghunathan