Queen of the Elephants is a book authored by the conservationist

Conservationist

Conservationists are proponents or advocates of conservation. They advocate for the protection of all the species in an ecosystem with a strong focus on the natural environment...

 and travel writer Mark Shand

Mark Shand

Mark Roland Shand , is a British travel writer and conservationist.Shand is the son of Bruce Shand MC and his wife the Hon Rosalind Maud Cubitt, daughter of the 3rd Baron Ashcombe and the former Sonia Keppel. His elder sister is HRH The Duchess of Cornwall. He was educated at Milton Abbey School...

 and the corresponding BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 documentary Queen of the Elephants, based on the life of the first female mahout in recent times—Parbati Barua

Parbati Barua

Parbati Barua is the first female mahout in recent recorded history, and a citizen of India.Born to Late Prakritish Chandra Barua of the Royal Family Of Gauripur . She came to the limelight after the BBC created the documentary "Queen of the Elephants" based on her life, along with the companion...

 of Kaziranga. The book went on to win the 1996 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award

Thomas Cook Travel Book Award

The Thomas Cook Travel Book Award originated as an initiative of Thomas Cook AG in 1980, with the aim of encouraging and rewarding the art of literary travel writing. The awards stopped in 2005...

 and the Prix Litteraire d'Amis, providing free publicity simultaneously to the profession of mahouts, and to Kaziranga.