Lords Of The Forest: Meet The Kattunayakan Tribe From The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve

Kattunayakan Tribe of India | The 2022 Indian documentary film “The Elephant Whisperers,” which won the Academy Award in the best documentary short film category a year later, tells the story of a real-life couple named Bellie and Bomman who care for an orphaned baby elephant named Raghu. Directed by Kartiki Gonsalves, the depiction of the strong bond that develops between the couple and the elephant was a moving portrayal of human-animal co-existence on-screen. But, Bellie and Bomman’s connection to wildlife is nothing new; they hail from an indigenous community that has long worshipped animals, birds, trees, hills and snakes, along with the other Hindu deities.