The Elephant Whisperers, a heart-warming story of a couple Bomman and Bellie, and their unbreakable bond with Raghu, an orphaned elephant, has been nominated in the ‘Documentary Short Film Category’ in the 95th Academy Awards. Filmed in Tamil Nadu’s Theppakadu Elephant Camp at the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Kartiki Gonsalves’ documentary shines light on the bond humans and animals can share, but also notes the growing man-conflict in the elephant corridors of the Western Ghats. Recently, the Tamil Nadu Government sent 13 mahouts from the camps for training at the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre in Thailand. For example, Kaleem, a kumki (trained elephant) has helped capture more than 25 wild elephants in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala over the past 20 years. About eight years ago, when a wild elephant ran amuck in the Chhattisgarh forests, it was a Malasar mahout from Anamalai who disciplined it in just two days.