The very reason why the elephant rejuvenation camp was initiated by the Tamil Nadu state government seemed lost on the opening day as human beings continued to disturb the gentle giants in the Thekkampatty elephant camp here on Thursday.

Even as the elephants were relieved to see at least some of their distant relatives, the arrival of humans put them in a pretty uncomfortable state. “Temple elephants are used to meeting people and it is true that they sometime feel bored without their presence. Yet, they are very tired and stressed out with the journey. In addition, the presence of humans tenses them,” one of the mahouts said.

One of the veterinary doctors deployed at the camp to monitor the elephants pointed out that stressed and tired elephants can be easily identified with their movements. “Elephants are usually found swaying their head swiftly when they are interested and cheerful. But such was not the case with these elephants. Most of them are either sleeping while standing or are standing still. Even if they move, the movement is very slow,” he told the Covai Post.

However, the behaviour of humans did worry the elephants, leading the mahouts to injure them when they refused to pose for the photographs. A mahout brutally wounded his elephant’s right leg with the angusam (a stick with a curved blade at the edge used by mahouts to control the elephants) because it refused to stand still when a couple of tourists posed next to it.

This was the case with most of the elephants as people with flashing mobile phone cameras taking selfies and photographs approached each elephant, frequently gesturing the mahouts to make the already tired animals do stunts like Silambattam and even playing the mouth organ.

A higher official from the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Board, which is in charge of the camp, said that the mahouts are strictly instructed not to make the elephants perform for the public. But, public continued to cross the boundaries with the elephants by moving closer even as the mahouts warned them not to. Some even harassed the elephants that were sleeping and coaxed them to stand.

A popular belief among mahouts, who were themselves stressed, is that the elephants leave the camp with a stress-free mind. “They should be okay in a couple of days in the camp if there are no disturbances,” said a mahout.