- Fifty-year-old Swarnamoyee, a female elephant used for private safaris, died in Assam’s Kaziranga last month. Initial reports cite respiratory failure as the cause of death.
- Swarnamoyee’s death has led to questions about the challenges faced by elephants used in safaris and the livelihood issues associated with safari tourism.
- In a region like Kaziranga where livelihoods depend on tourism and safaris, the condition of the elephants and livelihoods need to be balanced.
On the morning of December 11, 2025, Swarnamoyee, a 50-year-old safari elephant, had completed two trips carrying tourists in Kaziranga National Park (KNP), Assam. After this, Swarnamoyee collapsed unexpectedly on National Highway-715. After treatment, she managed to rise again briefly. But then she fell down again and this time, didn’t get up.
Speaking to Mongabay-India, Dr. S. Borgohain, Veterinary Officer, KNP, who treated the elephant, said, “As per our tentative diagnosis, the elephant died from respiratory failure. We conducted the postmortem as per which poisoning has been ruled out. There is no indication from the materials found in its digestive tract that the elephant was not eating properly. We have collected its vital organs like liver, lung, spleen, kidney etc. for further pathological tests at the forensic laboratory.”
Bijit Dihingia, Range Officer, Bagori (Western Range), KNP told Mongabay-India, “During the tourist season in KNP (November-May), elephant safaris are in huge demand.” Elephant safaris are carried out mainly in two ranges — by private operators at Bagori (the western range) and by the forest department at Kohora (the central range). “While the elephants are required to carry out two trips daily (from 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. and from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m.), during the weekend they are made to carry out three as tourist inflow increases,” Dihingia said.
“Currently there are 39 elephants running safaris for private operators. One elephant carries four adult tourists per trip and smaller elephants carry three people. It costs ₹1,350 per person per trip,” he noted.
As per the data provided by KNP authorities, 2025 saw 1,46,157 tourists coming in till December 27, out of which 1,34,458 were Indian tourists and 6,699 were foreign nationals.
However, the unfortunate death of Swarnamoyee has raised complex questions regarding the treatment of elephants used in safaris on one hand and the issue of livelihood associated with these safaris on the other.
Elephant safaris
Conservationist and mahout Parbati Barua told Mongabay-India, “Elephants can make two trips at the most on a day and they should not be stressed under any circumstances. These are living beings and not machines. In this scenario, mahouts have a very important role to play.” Barua is also the recipient of the Padma Shree award for her work in elephant and wildlife conservation.
Activist Pranab Doley who hails from Kaziranga, said, “Elephant safaris provide livelihood to a lot of people like mahouts who will find it difficult to switch to other occupations. However, at the same time, it must be ensured that proper care of the elephant is being taken, and its medical screening is done regularly.”
“It must be ensured that the mahouts are properly trained. The government should also come up with a facility where these elephants are taken care of,” Doley added.
Challenges faced by safari elephants
The death of Swarnamoyee has devastated Pinku Ali, the tour operator who had employed the now-deceased elephant. Ali, a local of Kaziranga, has been in the tourism business for more than two decades.
Speaking to Mongabay-India about the death of Swarnamoyee, Ali said, “It had no prior sickness but that morning after completing its trip, it started shivering and shaking and collapsed on the ground. We called the veterinarian who gave it an injection and saline and it got up for a bit before falling down again.”
Borgohain added that while there were no visible symptoms on the elephant, the condition they are kept at might have a bearing on its health. “The elephants are kept tied on the side of the highway. They face a lot of disturbances throughout the night due to constant movement of big vehicles like trucks and lorries. After not getting proper sleep at night, they have to wake up at 3 a.m. in the cold and fog of Kaziranga for a 5 a.m. safari. This creates a lot of stress and exhaustion,” he said.
Borgohain also informed that elephants go through a medical screening by a committee of three veterinarians — one each from the forest department, Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) and from the Animal Husbandry Department in Kohora, before the tourist season begins and then another screening takes place after one and half months. “Swarnamoyee passed both these screenings” he added.
Bimal Sarma, another private safari owner counters Borgohain’s statement and said, “We don’t exactly keep them on the road. We tie them at about 100-200 m away from the road. The elephants owned by the forest department are allowed to roam in the forest after their trip, but we are not allowed to take our elephants inside the forest.” According to Sarma, Swarnamoyee is the first safari elephant to die during ongoing tourist season.
A senior forest official who served in KNP in the past, on conditions of anonymity, told Mongabay-India, “Private safari owners feed their elephants only with a diet of bananas which is not healthy at all. Elephants consume more than 200 kg of food daily and they need 30-40 varieties of food. Forest elephants get that variety as they are let loose inside the jungle post safari. Private party-owned elephants on the other hand have no grazing ground and so they get insufficient ration.”
The role of a mahout
Pinku Ali noted that Hem Chandra, the mahout of deceased Swarnamoyee left for his home in Mangaldoi, devastated after the elephant died. Being the mahout of a privately-owned elephant is not an easy task. Speaking to Mongabay-India, Boloram Deka, who has been in this profession since 1986 said, “I currently look after an elephant called Gowrimaa. I have known the elephant for three decades. My home is in Naamkhola in Darrang district and the elephant lives with me during the off-season. Its owner has left me fully in-charge.” Deka said it took 10 days for him to reach KNP with the elephant before the tourist season began in November.
“A mahout has to take care of everything regarding the elephant he is in charge of. We have to get up at 3 a.m. every day to prepare the elephant for the safari at 5 a.m. We have to arrange for its food and bathing. Carrying the seat with tourists on its back puts a lot of stress on its liver. So, we give it a tonic for the liver every three months. We also have a lotion which we massage on its back with hot water to ease off the pain,” Deka said.
Regarding the income of mahouts, safari owner Sarma said, “We pay mahouts a monthly salary of ₹15,000 and further ₹5,000 for ration. They also earn well from the tips provided by tourists, especially those coming from abroad. During the tourist season, mahouts can earn around ₹300,000.”
Deka however noted that the opportunity to earn from tips given by foreign tourists have reduced now. “Now, the foreign tourists are taken by the forest department to ride the government-run safaris at Kohora,” he said.
Livelihood challenges
Nowadays, elephant safaris are not a profitable activity anymore, said Pinku Ali. “We spend around ₹90,000 on the elephants every month including the salary of the mahouts and earn maybe around ₹1,20,000, which is not much. Competition from jeep safaris has also increased. There are now 600 jeeps compared to the previous 100. Also, all the elephants under private safaris together can accommodate maybe 300 tourists while the park gets 6,000-12,000 tourists daily.”
However, despite all the issues, Ali stated that he is in this business because there are no other employment opportunities. “For us locals in Kaziranga, tourism and agriculture are the only viable options to earn money,” he said. Sarma notes that there are around 20 local individuals from Kaziranga involved in the business of private elephant safaris. Ranger Dihingia also argues that elephant safaris are still continuing because of their public demand.
“Also, it is becoming increasingly difficult for owners to keep elephants because of the rising cost. If elephant safaris are shut down in KNP, they will send their elephants either in private facilities or temples or to work in extremely harsh conditions in illegal saw mills of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh,” Sarma said.
“During off season, many elephants are seen begging on the streets. Good earnings during tourist season at least help to sustain these elephants along with their mahouts for the rest of the year,” he added.
Read more: Fragmented forests and human disturbances create stress in Asian elephants
Banner image: Mahouts ready a captive elephant for safaris in Kaziranga National Park. Image by SeethaG via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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