Kaziranga Says Goodbye to Mohanmala, the Elephant Matriarch Who Served for More Than Five Decades

For more than half a century, Mohanmala was part of the living history of Kaziranga National Park. She carried forest workers through dangerous terrain, helped during difficult flood seasons, took part in anti-poaching operations, and became a trusted companion to generations of people working to protect one of India’s most remarkable wildlife sanctuaries. When she died at an estimated age of 70 to 80, Kaziranga lost far more than an elderly elephant. It lost a familiar presence whose life had become closely woven into the story of conservation itself.

Mohanmala was brought to Kaziranga on May 17, 1970, after being procured from Kamrup during the tenure of the then Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Durga Prasad Neog. Over the decades that followed, she served in different ranges of the park and became particularly valuable during the annual floods, when large parts of Kaziranga can be transformed by rising water. When boats could not safely reach certain areas and frontline staff struggled to continue their duties, Mohanmala could move through the water with remarkable confidence.

She was an excellent swimmer, and her strength became a practical lifeline for the people depending on her. Forest personnel could climb onto her back and be carried through challenging stretches of flooded landscape, allowing patrols and essential conservation work to continue when conditions were otherwise extremely difficult.

Her service also extended to anti-poaching operations, where her calm temperament and fearlessness made her a dependable partner in difficult situations. To the people who worked beside her, Mohanmala was not simply a departmental elephant. She was a colleague who had earned their trust through years of shared experiences in some of Kaziranga’s most demanding environments.

One story, remembered by her head mahout Kiran Rabha, perhaps captures that relationship better than anything else.

One winter morning, Rabha was riding Mohanmala near Mihibeel, accompanied by her young calf, Malati. The quiet landscape suddenly changed when a wild bull elephant appeared and began charging toward them. The bull was moving aggressively and rapidly, even uprooting a large tree as it advanced.

Mohanmala appeared to understand the danger immediately.

Rather than confronting the charging elephant, she turned toward the deep waters of Mihibeel, an environment she knew extremely well from years of traveling through Kaziranga during floods. She entered the water and encouraged Malati to follow. With powerful strokes, she carried Rabha away from the immediate danger, creating enough distance from the approaching bull for them to reach safety.

Once she had brought her mahout across the wetland, Mohanmala disappeared into the surrounding forest with her calf. For weeks, nobody knew where they had gone. Then, unexpectedly, she returned to her camp with Malati, calm and unharmed.

It was a story of survival, but also of instinct and trust. Mohanmala had been responsible not only for herself but for a calf and a human companion who depended on her judgment. Her decision to use the water rather than meet the threat head-on demonstrated the kind of experience that can develop in an elephant after many decades of navigating complex environments.

Mohanmala became a mother herself, giving birth to two female calves. One, Malati, survived to 17 years before sadly passing away. Her second calf died only three days after birth after a tiger attack, another reminder of the harsh realities that exist even within protected wildlife landscapes.

Mohanmala eventually retired from active departmental duties in 2003, but retirement did not erase her place in the memories of those who had worked alongside her. By the time of her death, she was regarded as the oldest elephant and the last matriarch among Kaziranga’s departmental elephants.

A tribute ceremony was held at Mihimukh in the park’s central range, where officials performed her last rites and expressed their deep sorrow. Her passing marked the end of a remarkable chapter that had begun in 1970 and stretched across more than five decades of conservation work.

From an animal-behavior perspective, elephants are extraordinary long-lived, socially intelligent animals whose experience can become particularly valuable within their communities. Older individuals may possess extensive knowledge of landscapes, seasonal conditions, water sources, and threats. Mohanmala’s life offers a human example of how years of experience can also shape the relationship between elephants and the people who work closely with them.

Kaziranga will continue its conservation work, protecting one of India’s most important wildlife ecosystems and its extraordinary populations of rhinoceroses, tigers, elephants, wild water buffaloes, and swamp deer. But for those who knew Mohanmala, the park will feel different without her.

She was a flood-season rescuer, a protector, a mother, and a trusted working companion. Her greatest legacy may not be found in a single dramatic moment, but in the thousands of ordinary days when she quietly carried out her duties and helped the people around her do theirs.

Mohanmala’s life began more than seven decades ago and ended with generations of forest workers knowing her name. She leaves behind no words, only memories, photographs, stories, and the lasting impression of an elephant who spent much of her life helping protect a place she had come to call home.

For Kaziranga, saying goodbye to Mohanmala means saying goodbye to one of its most enduring matriarchs—and to a remarkable elephant whose courage and loyalty will remain part of the park’s history for years to come.