I vividly recollect the moment when I observed a young elephant raising his trunk to smell me, while his sister stood next to him. The world of elephants is truly fascinating if you observe them through their lens and especially if you love their young ones. It has been an incredible seven years since I started drawing cartoons of Bhunte and writing stories about him. I used to jot them down on waste papers, boxes, tables, bed sheets, and whatever else I could find. Bhunte’s image is ingrained in my mind to such an extent that I can feel all his emotions. Through Bhunte, I shared some basic elephant science, raised concerns about elephant conservation and management, shared some silly stories, and a lifetime’s worth of elephantine reminiscences. I am proud to call Bhunte my friend, and his story has now reached over 100 countries. Bhunte has become my travel companion and an integral part of my scientific pursuit. You see him now in some of my publications too 🙂 Let’s celebrate Bhunte, and the greatest treasure of mother nature – the elephants! And the fact that we are lucky to observe elephants in the wild! Share what you love about elephants with Bhunte and your first experience of seeing a wild elephant.

~Sanjeeta Sharma Pokharel

Some features of Bhunte:

https://www.edexlive.com/people/2020/mar/12/addressing-the-baby-elephant-how-this-iisc-researchers-cartoons-are-spreading-awareness-on-elephan-10643.html

https://weather.com/en-IN/india/environment/news/2020-08-12-world-elephant-day-bhunte-baby-sanjeeta-iisc-causes-ways-assess