Meet the Elephant Doctor

Little did Dr Sarma know that destiny would hand him back his childhood love for elephants in mammoth proportions

- Manjum Mahanta

Hailing from Assam, Dr. Kushal Konwar Sarma is the Head of the Department of Surgery, College of Veterinary Science, AAU, Khanapara. Widely known as ‘Elephant Doctor’, he was recently awarded the 2019 Padma Shri Award by the Government of India for his outstanding contribution in the field of wildlife treatment and Asian Elephant conservation. According to reports, Dr. Sarma has traveled around 5 lakh kilometers, mostly in the jungles of Assam, and has spent countless weekends, treating and taming nearly 10,000 elephants.

How do you think this award will boost the work you are involved in?

I am blessed and honoured to be bestowed the Padma Shri award; it was unexpected. This award has given a big push to my work, encouraging me to take up more elephant conservation work. It has, in a sense, increased my responsibility towards elephants. I hope that this honour will also inspire more people to work on elephant conservation or wildlife conservation in general.

How and when did you start working with elephants in Assam? How many elephants have you helped till date?

Since my childhood, I had an emotional connection with elephants. We had an elephant named Lakshmi at our home with whom I used to play around. When I reached high school, she died of an infection. I was shaken by her death. I would dream of elephants almost every night. That time, I did not know that elephants were going to become part of my destiny.