Netflix’s latest documentary, Elephant Chargers, is an ode to these magnanimous animals and the devastation they face. It is the story of an elephant and its guardians, an exploration of any two creatures who choose to coexist in a world where climate protection and conservation measures are not a priority.

The film is set in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, located in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu and sprawling at the intersection of the three states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It is home to India’s first Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve.

Inside this nature reserve is the oldest elephant camp in Asia, the Teppakadu Elephant Camp, established about 100 years ago. This camp, located on the banks of the Moyyar River, is a perfect example of the coexistence of human nature.

The film’s narrative involves Bomman and Belly, a pair of middle-aged elephant caretakers, the forerunners of a generation of indigenous tribes called the Kattunayakan. They coexist with wildness–wild animals, wild plants, wild insects–and all that goes with it.

To them the elephants are their gods and the forest is their mother. This is the story of Raghu, an abandoned elephant who was driven from his herd as a baby and then rescued from near certain death thanks to Bomman’s great care. It was soon joined by Belly’s maternal care.

As you watch Raghu grow up, the story of Indian preservation unfolds.

India launched the JFM (Joint Forest Management) program in the 1980s to work closely with local communities to protect and manage forests. Since then, these efforts have proven irrelevant as people caring for local ecosystems have received little attention.

Elephant Spellers proves how integral indigenous communities and their existence in forested areas are to biodiversity conservation. The line I’m left with from the program is, “Let’s take what we need from the forest and never again.” There is no greed here.

Watching Elephant Caster breaks down what it means to look at biodiversity conservation.

The film encourages viewers to question how they define “family ties,” devoting considerable time to showing the bond between Bomman, Belly, Raghu and Ammu.

There is no boundary separating humans and creatures, no matter how much modern life encourages us to remove ourselves from the natural world.

To this end, there is no solution to saving nature unless an ecological consciousness is awakened among the population. It is through films such as Elephant Chasers that public opinion can be changed by meaningfully informing the masses, which can ultimately be converted into action.

Elephant Spellcasters rekindled my love of climate action, an area in which I aspire to excel.

There is also a certain amount of warmth and light in the film, and picturesque, magical shots of Raghu and his parents are commonplace.