Cows grazing in meadows is a common sight for people in India. But what if you notice a wild elephant along with the cows in a meadow? Now that would be special, wouldn’t it?
A rare friendship recently attracted tourists and natives of Periyavara near Munnar in Idukki district where they saw a wild elephant sharing some camaraderie with domestic cows grazing in a meadow.
It was on September 27 that tourists and natives noticed a wild elephant slowly walking into a meadow and joining the grazing cows and merrily trying to befriend them. In videos of the incident being shared, the cows initially seem to be a bit unsure about the intruder in their midst and a few are seen running away in panic. But with some consistent persuasion the playful pachyderm manages to make an acquaintance with them. The jumbo calmly resists the frightened protests from the cows, befriends them, spends time with them and then goes back to its herd in the forest.
It was this cuteness overload that Periyavara witnessed where the cows and the jumbo shared some moments of happy companionship. The new friends spent over an hour together in the meadow. Later the wild elephant was seen returning to the forest.
Tourists on their way to see the Neelakurinji spell in Munnar captured videos and photos of the rare moments and shared it with others. The Munnar-Mattuppetty route is home to wild elephants and it is a treat for tourists who get to witness them. One or two herds of wild elephants can be located easily in the meadows on the Munnar-Mattuppetty route.
It was in February that a wild elephant named Padayappa ventured into a ground in Kannimala near Munnar where a Tata Finlay football match was going on. Terrified, people ran away but a cool Padayappa roamed around a bit, watched and sniffed the ground before returning peacefully to the forest.
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