The Elephant Doctor of India

by Janie Chodosh

Overview

" Dramatic, moving, and packed with fascinating elephant facts, young readers will find inspiration and excitement on every page.” —Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus and Kakapo Rescue  

The true story of the last viable Asian elephant population and the man dedicated to saving them.  

Early on a January morning in 2015, a young bull elephant touched on a sagging electric line in the Paneri Tea Plantation in the Udalgari District of Assam, India. The elephant’s soft-padded feet conducted the current and the animal fell, kicking in the mud. The local veterinarian called to the scene thought the tusker was going to die.  

The forest department warden called the one person who could help: Dr. Kushal Konwar Sarma, India’s beloved elephant doctor. 

The Elephant Doctor of India brings the middle-grade reader into the heart of Assam, a remote land of tea plantations, paddy fields, and ancient forests, to tell the true story of the last viable population of Asian elephants and one man who is dedicated to saving them.  

Brings Dr. Sarma’s incredible story—and the lives of these magnificent animals—to readers in classrooms everywhere. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781641608992
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	01/03/2023
Pages:	174
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	980L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Janie Chodosh is the coauthor of Wild Lives: Leading Conservationists on the Animals and the Planet They Love. A former elementary and middle-school educator, she now teaches ecology and environmental science at Santa Fe Community College. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Table of Contents

1 Lakshmi, 1969 
2 Captive Elephants in India: Mom, Can I Have a Pet Elephant? 
3 Elephant School, 1976–1994 
4 Manik, 1994 
5 Musth Madness: It’s All About the Ladies 
6 Govind Singh, 2001 
7 Communication: My, What Big Ears You Have 
8 Lokhimai, 2002 
9 What Does Tea Have to Do with Elephants? 
10 The Wild Bull of Paneri Tea Estate, 2012 
11 Matriarchs and Memory: Listen to Your Elders
12 Manimala, Alaka, and Shankar, 2015 
13 An Old Friend, 2016 
Afterword: Saving Elephants
A Letter from Dr. Sarma
Author’s Note
Facts About Asian Elephants
Glossary

Editorial Reviews

"An inspiring story of compassion and humanity, all in the service of our remarkable planet. Required reading for every person who dreams of making a difference.” —Sneed B. Collard III, author of Hopping Ahead of Climate Change: Snowshoe Hares, Science, and Survival  


"The Elephant Doctor of India is a great read about a very special veterinarian in India. Janie Chodosh has captured the warmth, personality, and dedication of Dr. Kushal Sarma perfectly. This is an elephant doctor who considers weekends just two extra days to help elephants needing his care. Janie Chodosh shares the joys of Dr. Sarma’s many successful medical outcomes and the sad reality of those patients who cannot be saved. Each 'house call' in The Elephant Doctor of India is an adventure in determination to serve and, occasionally, a bit of unexpected hilarity." —Linda Reifschneider, president of Asian Elephant Support, www.asianelephantsupport.org 


“The world urgently needs to agree to leave room for the other animals, and the most powerful argument for doing so comes in the form of stories from the front lines of compassion. Janie Chodosh’s fine book tells, in intimate detail, a story of longing, of dedication, of determination that these magical and mysterious and profound beings we call elephants must never lose their foothold in existence on Earth.” —Carl Safina, author of Becoming Wild: How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace, and of Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel  
 


“A charming and informative work of nonfiction.”—Kirkus Reviews

“This engaging narrative, which is part biography, part veterinary science, and a full appreciation of the Asian elephant, aims to honor the wonder of the elephant and the cultures of the people that share their environment.” —School Library Journal

★ “…while vividly showing the doctor in action treating wild, working, and even circus elephants, [Chodosh] doesn’t shy away from frankly inviting readers to examine their own feelings about keeping elephants captive. Whatever those feelings may be, these encounters make riveting reading.” —Booklist, starred review

From the Publisher

03/01/2021

Gr 4–7—Dr. Kushal Konwar Sarma, an innovative Indian veterinarian specializing in the care of elephants, is the purported subject of this title, but the Asian elephant takes the lead in this work that combines adventure, biography, and scientist-in-the-field observations. Chodosh illuminates the life of Sarma through episodes involving various elephants and his groundbreaking work to learn how to treat them and how to encourage their conservation. Stories of Sarma working to save captive and wild elephants are vividly described; scientific information is woven throughout. Black-and-white photographs accompany the text. Readers join rescue missions that are exciting, dangerous, and heartwarming. The plight of the Asian elephant is described in detail. The controversies around keeping these creatures in captivity are openly discussed as well as the challenges of environmental changes that manifested because of tea plantations. Sarma's connection to and empathy for these complicated, engaging animals are infectious. Readers who want to make a connection with the Asian elephant will not be disappointed in this absorbing read. VERDICT This engaging narrative, which is part biography, part veterinary science, and a full appreciation of the Asian elephant, aims to honor the wonder of the elephant and the cultures of the people that share their environment.—John Scott, Friends Sch. of Baltimore

School Library Journal

2020-12-25
Throughout his career, Dr. Kushal Konwar “KK” Sarma has treated a variety of animals, but his first love has always been elephants.

Growing up in a village in Assam, India, he was particularly close to an elephant named Lakshmi, who died an untimely death at least partly because there were no doctors available to recognize and treat her symptoms. The loss of his favorite childhood companion inspired Sarma to become a veterinarian, determined to prevent any more unnecessary elephant deaths. His passion for elephants led Sarma to become a pioneer in the field of veterinary science, developing a technique for chemically sedating elephants before anyone else in Assam and gaining a reputation as the person to call whenever an elephant is in danger. In Chodosh’s account, Sarma’s adventures take him all over the state of Assam. His experiences healing India’s elephants—and, in the process, protecting human lives—are sometimes dangerous, sometimes heartbreaking, and always thrilling. This engaging and deeply researched book intersperses fascinating information about the lives of Assamese elephants with vivid scenes of Sarma’s veterinary life. Chodosh treats issues like religion, ethnicity, and language with care, providing readers with insight not only into elephant science, but also into northeastern Indian culture and tradition. The book’s afterword is an empowering call to action sure to create a generation of local ecological activists well aware of the global ramifications of their work.

A charming and informative work of nonfiction. (elephant facts, glossary) (Biography. 9-14)

Kirkus Reviews