Theppam means pond, and kadu means forest. Theppakadu elephant camp is located at the tri-junction of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka on the North Eastern Slopes of the Nilgiris part of Western Ghats, where it was established on the bank of the river Moyar in 1927 (officially established in 1972), although a similar predecessor existed nearby since 1910, and is regarded as the oldest elephant camp in India. 1985: In Mudumalai camp, even though 110 female calves were born in the past, most of them were sold. 2002: totally at Mudhumalai 27 elephants (12 at Theppakadu camp, 15 at Abhayaranyam camp) 2009: the camp has 23 elephants, seven females (age ranging from 3 to 75 years) and 16 males (age ranging from 11 to 58 years). These elephants are let into forest for ranging, and brought to the camp for the routine stall fed and bathing. 2017: The camp was closed for four months after two of the elephants there, Narmada and Bharathi, died in December of 2017. Their deaths were said to have been caused by the elephants contracting bacterial infection, precipitated by the lack of rainfall within the reserve. After their deaths, the elephant camp was indefinitely closed by MTR officials until May 2017, when it opened again. 2018-04-09: The Theppakadu camp now has 23 elephants including a calf.
