Tourists flock to Theppakadu elephant camp to see ‘Raghu’ after ‘The Elephant Whisperer’ movie wins Oscar

Ever since The Elephant Whisperer movie won an Oscar, there has been a huge fan following for the orphaned elephant ‘Raghu’ in Theppakadu elephant camp in Tamil Nadu as people are flocking to the camp to get a glimpse of the baby elephant.

This comes right after the much-appreciated documentary won an Oscar. Directed by Kirtika Gonsalves, the film depicts life around two Kattunayakan tribe members, Bomman and Bellie, who raise the orphaned elephant calves.

The Elephant Whisperers saw its nomination in the Documentary Short Film Category alongside Haul Out, How Do You Measure A Year, The Martha Mitchell Effect, and Stranger At The Gate.

"It is such a great moment. It's a pleasure to be here. The elephant is my favourite animal and the fact that the film won an Oscar does make me delighted and excited," a tourist visiting the camp told ANI.

Sukumaran Nair from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, who is a retired engineer from Kerala State Water Works department, told IANS, "This is the first time I am paying a visit to the Theppakadu Elephant camp. The only idea is to meet the elephants Raghu and Ammu and, if possible, chat with Bomman and Bellie."

Gonsalves in his winning speech said, "I stand here today to speak on the sacred bond between us and our natural world. For the respect of indigenous communities. For entity towards other living beings, we share our space with. And finally for co-existence. Thank you to the academy for recognizing our film highlighting indigenous people and animals. To Netflix for believing in the power of this film. To Guneet my Producer and my entire team and finally, to my mother father and sister who are up there somewhere, you're the centre of my universe. To my motherland India."

Established in 1917, the Theppakadu Elephant camp is the oldest camp in Asia which currently houses 28 elephants who were captured while they were wild tuskers creating problems for humans, and these elephants are tamed at this camp and converted to 'Kumki' elephants.

Also Read: Oscars 2023: India's ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ wins Best Documentary Short Film

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