CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Wednesday felicitated mahout Bomman and his wife Bellie, the protagonists of the Oscar-winning documentary Elephant Whisperers, at the state secretariat in Chennai.
Stalin also presented a ₹1 lakh cheque each to Bomman and Bellie and announced a similar award for 91 workers at Tamil Nadu’s two elephant camps in Mudumalai and Annamalai.
“This documentary has given the activities of our forest department and elephant care global recognition,” Stalin said. Bomman is an employee of the Tamil Nadu forest department.
The chief minister also announced financial assistance of ₹9.1 crore to build houses for mahouts and their assistants, cavadis, apart from ₹5 crore to upgrade the elephant camp in Annamalai. Stalin said ₹9 crore will also be allocated for a new elephant camp in Coimbatore.
The documentary is based on the life and work of Bomman and his wife Bellie who foster orphaned elephant calves, Raghu and Ammu.
Raghu was abandoned by his herd in Tamil Nadu’s Mudumalai reserve after being injured and was rescued by the Tamil Nadu forest department and given into the care of Bomman and Bellie.
The documentary was filmed in the picturesque Mudumalai forests of the Nilgiris district and shows the couple first taking care of Raghu, and later Ammu. The couple is from the Kattunayakan tribe, the traditional dwellers of the Mudumalai forests.