North Lakhimpur, April 23: An age-old tradition of keeping domestic elephants in Assam is under threat as rising costs, shrinking forest habitat and dwindling income push traditional elephant keepers toward an uncertain future. The crisis is visible in the case of Dharmendra Narah of Kadam Misinggaon, whose two elephants, Miyum (41) and Kushali (8), have been missing since mid-January after they wandered from a feeding camp in the Dullung Reserve Forest along the Assam–Arunachal Pradesh boundary.
Narah said the animals reportedly moved deep into Arunachal Pradesh and remained untraceable for months. On April 19 he was told the elephants had been sighted in Kamle district, but the informant allegedly demanded a large sum to assist in retrieval, compounding the family’s distress.
Owners say the burden of care has become steadily heavier. “Keeping an elephant today is extremely challenging with limited resources,” said Mrinal Narah, Dharmendra’s younger brother and owner of a 14-year-old elephant, Mangalee. He said at least two caretakers-a mahout and an assistant-are needed, costing over Rs 20,000 a month in wages alone. Each elephant also consumes around 10 kg of chickpeas and jaggery daily, plus banana trees and other natural fodder, while paid work for elephants has dwindled.
A key problem is lack of grazing land. Elephant owners commonly rely on forest patches in neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh for feed, exposing animals to risks and human–crop conflict. “We need at least one bigha of land per elephant daily for grazing, which is difficult to find in Assam. In Arunachal, elephants sometimes stray into plantations, forcing us to pay compensation,” Mrinal said, urging government allocation of land for fodder.
Shrinking forest cover and rapid urbanisation have altered traditional feeding routes and elephant behaviour, making management harder. Fourth-generation keeper Kuldip Gogoi, 30, said the closure of the timber industry erased a major income source but cultural attachment keeps him in the practice. “There is no income now, but I want to carry forward this legacy and the bond we share with these animals,” he said.
Though the Assam government announced financial assistance schemes in 2024 for traditional handlers, many owners allege irregularities in implementation. Elephant keepers are now calling for urgent measures-land for fodder cultivation, reliable financial support and formal recognition of their role-to preserve a centuries-old human–elephant coexistence before it fades into history.
Original Source: https://assamtribune.com/assam/assams-elephant-keepers-grapple-with-costs-habitat-loss-low-income-1610912
Category: Assam,Featured
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Publish Date: 2026-04-23 17:42:00
