Common tourists are not allowed to visit many ecotourism centres in the state, but the Sakrebailu elephant camp in Shimoga district continues to attract commoners.
Common tourists are not allowed to visit many ecotourism centres in the state, but the Sakrebailu elephant camp in Shimoga district continues to attract commoners.
Many elephant camps in the state are now run by private entities where a session to interact with the tuskers would cost nothing less than Rs400 per person. While common tourists are not allowed to visit the Dubare elephant camp in Kodagu district, Nagarhole National Park in the same district has been closed for tourists after a forest fire destroyed parts of the park.
Over 20,000 people have visited Sakrebailu camp so far this summer. Tourists mostly throng the camp to interact with elephants. An “elephant interaction” session can last up to two hours if tourists reach the riverside between 7am and 8.30 am when the tuskers are bathed, before being led to the feeding place.
“Many tourists bring fruits and sugarcane from distant places to feed the elephants, but we allow them to feed only the food prepared by our kavadis (elephant attendants)—a mixture of rice, dal and sprouts wrapped in dried paddy stalks—to the elephants,” Abdul Rahim Jamadar, an employee with the camp, told DNA.
“I have visited wildlife tourist centres such as Dubare, Chamarajanagar and Nagarhole; but they have always been reserved for high-profile tourists. My children were disappointed when I told them we cannot interact with elephants at those places. But my children and wife did so at Sakrebailu by paying only the entry fee,” said Narayana Rao, Bangalore-based wildlife enthusiast.
However, tourists cannot ride elephants at Sakrebailu as ‘gaddis’ (thick mattresses) that are mounted on them are in a bad shape and the forest department has not repaired or replaced them. Mohammad, one of the kavadis, who has been working at the camp for 12 years, knows the family tree of each of the 17 elephants. “I hope Ranga, a 35-year-old tusker, will bear the golden howdah of goddess Chamundeshwari at Mysore Dasara in a couple of years. He is a tad brash for such a delicate job, but he has phenomenal strength and with proper training he can be the right replacement to Balarama, who does the job now,” he said.
Forest minister CP Yogeshwar said: “I am hopeful that I’ll be able to promote the Sakrebailu elephant reserve to attract more tourists. This does not mean that common tourists will find it out of reach.”
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