Instead of attempting to confront the larger threat directly, she moved toward something she knew exceptionally well:
water.
Mohanmala plunged into the deep waters of Mihibeel.
Malati followed.
With powerful strokes, Mohanmala carried Rabha across the water and away from the charging bull.
She reached the opposite bank.
Her mahout was safe.
Then something unusual happened.
Mohanmala and Malati disappeared into the surrounding forest.
For weeks, forest staff apparently did not know where they were.
Then, after roughly a month according to the account later shared by park authorities, Mohanmala returned.
Malati was with her.
They were safe.
For the people who knew Mohanmala, the story became another example of her instinct, confidence and familiarity with the landscape.
The water that might have represented danger to others had become her escape route.
An Unofficial Ambulance
Mohanmala's swimming ability was useful for more than routine patrols.
Kiran Rabha later described another role she sometimes played.
She became, in his words reported by the Hindustan Times, something like the park's "unofficial ambulance."
In a wilderness landscape, getting an injured or sick person to safety can be difficult even under normal conditions.
During floods, the problem becomes far more serious.
A vehicle may not be able to reach an isolated forest camp.
A boat may not be able to navigate the terrain.
An experienced elephant, however, may still be capable of making the journey.
According to Rabha, Mohanmala helped transport sick or injured forest personnel from remote locations.
She could also carry them back after they recovered.
It is difficult to imagine a clearer demonstration of how deeply working elephants were integrated into everyday conservation life at Kaziranga.
She wasn't merely transporting equipment.
At times, she was transporting people who depended on her ability to get them safely through the landscape.
Generations Came and Went
Mohanmala's association with Kaziranga lasted so long that the human world around her repeatedly changed.
Forest officers came and went.
Mahouts grew older.
New employees arrived.
Equipment improved.
Conservation practices evolved.
Kaziranga itself gained greater international recognition.
In 1985, UNESCO inscribed Kaziranga National Park as a World Heritage Site, recognizing its exceptional ecological importance and biodiversity.
Mohanmala had already been there for 15 years.
She continued serving.
By the time younger forest employees began their careers, Mohanmala was already a veteran.
She represented continuity.
Someone joining the park could encounter an elephant who had been working there since 1970.
That is an extraordinary span of time.
Retirement in 2003
Eventually, Mohanmala reached the end of her active working career.
She retired from departmental duties in 2003.
By then, she had spent more than three decades performing active work associated with the park.
But retirement did not mean leaving Kaziranga.
This was her home.
She remained under the care of the Forest Department and continued living within the landscape where she had spent so much of her life.
Reports following her death noted that she received a government pension after retirement—an unusual detail that emphasized her formal status as a long-serving departmental elephant.
The patrols were over.
The dangerous journeys through floodwater were no longer part of her routine.
But Mohanmala remained a familiar presence.