ABSTRACT
This chapter describes current relationships of mahouts with elephants in two national parks located in southern India and Nepal. With the establishment of Nagarahole National Park in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, ownership of elephants was transferred from the maharajah to the government. Of interest here are elephants associated with two villages: with a few elephant females and bulls, Bale is at the site of a former logging camp that tourists can visit; Sunkadakatte has several female elephants that are used to provide half-hour rides to tourists. The ethnographic observations presented in the chapter are drawn from five visits to Nagarahole National Park, comprising nine weeks during the period 1995 to 2001. The context of mahouts and elephants includes a spiritual world with many gods. Frequent offerings are made to evoke good fortune and ward off harm. Establishing intimate relationships with elephants predisposes mahouts to experience profound grief at the loss of a significant relationship.
