Why India’s Forests Can’t Survive Without ‘Elephant Grandmothers'

13 August 2025

She carries maps of ancient forests in her memory. She teaches survival to generations. She’s not just an elephant — she’s the architect of India’s wild heart. Meet the Matriarch.

Elephant matriarchs are libraries of survival. They remember drought-waterholes from 50 years ago, safe migration paths across hundreds of kilometres, and how to outsmart predators.

Their knowledge is the herd’s GPS. Lose her = lose a forest’s living map. In fact, studies show herds led by older matriarchs have two times higher calf survival rates.

She’s also a keystone species — holding entire ecosystems together. Her ‘destruction’ creates life, from digging holes that fill with life-saving water to widely dispersing seeds through dung — vital for forest regeneration.

Elephant herds are feminist utopias. The matriarch leads, but ALL females co-raise calves — feeding, babysitting, protecting. Orphaned calves? Adopted instantly. Their bonds mirror human ‘villages’ — but perfected over 5 million years.

Tragically, matriarchs are prime targets and often die first while leading the herd — from fence electrocution to highway accidents. Losing her = ecological chaos. Herds fragment. Calves starve. Forests suffer.

The good news? Matriarchs also have many humans protecting them and their herds — like Ranchi's ‘Hathi Mitra’ Tapas Karmakar, whose WhatsApp group is helping villages coexist with the biggest animal on land.

In Assam, an all-woman team of forest rangers — Van Durgas — patrol Kaziranga. From looking after orphaned calves to dismantling poaching rings, they are some of the fiercest protectors of the gentle giants.

From Uttarakhand's Chilla-Motichur corridor to Arunachal's Pakke-Doimara corridor, Vivek Menon's Wildlife Trust of India has helped secure 101 elephant corridors — linking fragmented forests for matriarchs.

This story wouldn't be complete without a tribute to Dr V Krishnamurthy, a legend who spent over 30 years providing veterinary care to wild matriarchs and their herds in southern India.

These heroes are doing some incredible work, but we as a nation need to do more for them — because protecting matriarchs = protecting forests that store carbon, rivers that feed millions, and 100+ species that rely on elephant-engineered habitats.