‘Felt My Daughter Was Being Taken Away’: Mahout Ali, Elephant Bhawani & Transfer Order That Tested Strength Of Their Bond

Published 27 July 2026 · general

‘Felt My Daughter Was Being Taken Away’: Mahout Ali, Elephant Bhawani & Transfer Order That Tested Strength Of Their Bond Reported By, Edited By Last

‘Felt My Daughter Was Being Taken Away’: Mahout Ali, Elephant Bhawani & Transfer Order That Tested Strength Of Their Bond Reported By, Edited By Last Updated: July 27, 2026, 19:31 IST Mahout Ali's bond with elephant Bhawani was tested by a transfer order. Legal intervention stalled the relocation, keeping Bhawani at Dudhwa with Ali and her companion Durga Rapid Read Elephant Bhawani with mahout Ali. For nearly three years, Bhawani has known only one world. The forests and elephant camp of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, the familiar voice and touch of mahout Irshad Ali, another orphaned elephant calf, Durga, who became her constant companion, and the adult female elephants who gradually became the surrogate herd for a calf that had lost her own family in the wild. But a proposal to move her to Gorakhpur Zoological Park threatened to sever all of those bonds. On Monday, that relocation was stalled after a legal intervention by advocate S. Mohammed Haider Rizvi, who challenged the proposed transfer on animal welfare and legal grounds. For Ali, the development was deeply personal. “I felt as if my own daughter was being taken away from me," he said. HOW ALI MET BHAWANI Ali has worked as a mahout for 35 years, but Bhawani, he says, was different from every elephant he had cared for before. “She came to me when she was just a newborn. She needed someone every moment. She was not merely an elephant calf for me. I raised her like my own child," Ali said. Bhawani was rescued from the Najibabad forest division in Bijnor district after becoming separated from her mother and herd. According to Ali, she was barely 12 days old when she was brought to the Salukapur Rhinoceros Rehabilitation Centre in Dudhwa. A newly delivered elephant had reportedly entered farmland, after which farmers tried to drive the herd away. In the process, the calf became separated from her mother. “Elephants are extremely protective of their calves. They never leave them behind easily. But in such situations, when a herd is driven away from farmland, a newborn can sometimes get separated," Ali said.

By the time Bhawani reached Dudhwa, she was frail and completely dependent on human care. “The biggest challenge was feeding her. She needed milk at very short intervals," Ali recalled. He would feed her Lactogen and cow’s milk repeatedly through the day and night. “I used to feed her almost 10 times during the day and 10 times at night. Many nights, I did not sleep at all. I would remain awake, waiting for the next time she needed to be fed," he said. The quantities were enormous. “In a day, she would consume a mixture of around 15 kg of milk, water and Lactogen. At night, she needed nearly 12 kg more," Ali said. The mahout had a wife and two sons at home, but Bhawani required constant attention. “I have a family of my own — my wife and two sons. But Bhawani needed me more at that time. I used to go home only once a month," he said. “For me, she was like a child. If a human baby cries, the mother wakes up. It was the same with Bhawani. I had to be there whenever she needed me." He would often sleep beside the calf. “She would sleep with her trunk resting on me. Slowly, she began recognising me. She knew my voice, my smell and my presence," Ali said. Today, Bhawani is nearly three years old. She no longer depends on milk as she once did. “She eats porridge and khichdi. She eats gram too. But even today, I have to feed her with my hand," Ali said, adding, “Just like we feed our children, I feed her. She still behaves like a baby." The bond has also extended to another orphaned elephant. BHAWANI’S COMPANION DURGA Durga, herself a rescued female calf, became Bhawani’s companion. Adult female elephants at the camp also gradually began accepting the younger calf. “She has grown up here. This is her home. Durga is with her. The other elephants know her. She knows everyone here," Ali said. That is why the proposed transfer to Gorakhpur Zoo left him devastated.