All the other mahouts working there speak only Malayalam, making it imperative for her to learn the language.

BBC: 'How an elephant changed my life'

Fifty-one houses have been built in the village of Kunda to house the mahouts - keepers - and their elephants.

BBC: Rajasthan gets India's first 'elephant village'

"The elephants can't tell you how they feel, but the mahouts feel very grateful and satisfied afterwards, " says veterinarian Ylva Persson.

CNN: Volunteer vets keep Thailand's elephants on their feet

"The elephants are very domesticated, so I think most are easy to treat because they have been trained by the mahouts, the keepers, " says Lindsjo.

CNN: Volunteer vets keep Thailand's elephants on their feet

The group's work has proven to be very valuable to the mahouts, who don't earn enough to be able to afford health care for the elephants.

CNN: Volunteer vets keep Thailand's elephants on their feet

Like other mahouts, she says, she takes the elephants to the river to give them a bath and helps out with other tasks necessary for their upkeep.

BBC: 'How an elephant changed my life'

It's now estimated that about 100 mahouts, or handlers, and their elephants, can be found in Bangkok each day, begging for money and food, and exposing the animals to grave danger.

CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | Travel Watch

In a more pacific mode, elephants were employed across South Asia and Indo-China in the logging industry, felling and carrying and transporting teak, where they were trained and superintended by elephant boys, or mahouts, who established a lifelong relationship with their animals.

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