Elephant Camps

Forest camps (FCs) in India (primarily owned by the State Forest Departments) with captive elephants is an artifact of the timber-extraction era established during the British rule. Elephants in FCs are mostly in idyllic extensive conditions of free ranging, have scope for interactions with other elephants, bathe in rivers and lakes and breed with both camp and wild elephants. Their main work is the carrying of visitors and tourists, participating in elephant rescue (koonkie / kumki) operations and patrolling protected areas as part of anti-poaching operations.

I extracted this information from a very insightful scientific publication (heavy PDF): Captive elephants in Forest Camps of India

These are images from various elephant camps in S India viz Sunkadakatte (Nagarahole, Karnataka), Balle (Nagarahole, Karnataka), Kozhikamutti (Anamalai, TN), Dubare (Karnataka).