Padam, the former Maharajah of the Namanpur Wild reserve, is upset when he learns that a new warden has been appointed. Karl Bergen, the new warden, is a man with fresh ideas for the park which disrupts Padam's intentions to regain this land.Karl meets Toomai and his brother Rantji and helps them to remain in the reserve with their elephant.
In "Leopard Skin Coat." Toomai and Ranjit deliver supplies to a visiting photographer in the jungle, but they discover he is not all he appears, and is in fact poaching leopards for their skins.
When a rich Englishman, who is a guest in the reserve, unintentionally shoots and injures a cow elephant, the animal rushes into a village hurting several people. The elephant is finally intercepted and nursed, but its baby is left alone in the wilderness. Toomai believes that the little elephant is awesome because of a particular body painting that identifies it as the child of Ganesa, the elephant god ...
A small stag, attacked by a leopard and severely wounded, is found in the reserve by Toomai and taken to the camp. Here Toomai nurses the animal, which he calls Podda, together with Sue Fraser. Afterwards, Karl Bergen insists that the animal must be brought back to the vicinity of its herd, but the disappointed Toomai does not want to know anything about it. After Podda is again in the wilderness, Tomai still watches the animal secretly.
Bergen's secretary Roy loves servant Surani, but she is, according to old custom, already promised to another man, namely Nassim, the supreme elephant leader of their master Padam. That is why one day Surani desperately flees into the jungle and falls down a cliff. Roy and Toomai, who have followed her, can't manage to save her. They are dependent on Nassim's support, but Surani rebuffs his help.
There is great excitement in the village because a flock of birds have dived up, which, according to ancient beliefs, is a sign of a happy New Year - to drive out the birds is bringing misfortune. When veterinarian Sue Fraser discovers some dead birds, she is even blamed by the villagers for the death of the animals. In fact, there is a fertilizer that Padam, the former owner of the reserve site, used in his fields.
Elephant Kala Nag, the animal used by Toomai to travel in the reserve, doesn't belong to the boy, but to former Maharajah Padam. Toomai's biggest dream is to be able to eventually buy the beloved animal. When he observes a fancy wildcat while fishing, he decides to catch and sell the rare animal so he finally get the money for Kala Nags. He doesn't understand that in a reserve there are also protected predators ...
Elephant leader Petal, who over the past five years with his elephant was allowed to represent the Namanpur region in a parade of the most beautiful elephants in the country, is severely offended that this honor will be assigned to Toomai with his elephant Kala Nag in the new year. Therefore he starts a cruel intrigue against the boy, which ends with the fact that Toomai Kala Nag has to relinquish the honour to Petal. But Toomai fights for his elephant, a victim of Petal's mistreatment...
Karl Bergen is worried about one of the elephant drivers named Oya, whose dancing elephant is an attraction in the reserve and attracts numerous visitors. Although Bergen does not quite agree with this way of presenting the animal, he nevertheless opposes the authorities' orders to dismiss Oya, because he has observed that he has already collapsed unconsciously after the performance. Obviously, Oya is requiring urgent assistance ...
Toomai is suspected of having stolen a camera from a journalist in the reserve, because the statement of two elephant leaders, so-called "Mahouts", weighs heavily on him. One of the two men shows Bergen the place where Toomai supposedly hid the camera, and when Bergen actually finds the stolen property there, so he separates Toomai from his elephant Kala Nag.
Before the court is brought the case of elephant leader Ratne, whose elephant has killed the businessman Daniels. Ratne claims that the animal was stubborn, difficult, and out of control from the outset, but Toomai proves that the animal can be quiet and obedient when dealing with it properly. Now the question arises: Has the elephant acted on Ratne's command, because he wanted to kill Daniels?
When Jack Wilson, a former big-hunter, appears as a guest in the Namanpur reserve, Karl Bergen is in a state of emergency: although Wilson asserts that he is only following animals with the lens of his camera, Bergen fears that his guest might once again fall for his old passion. And soon he gets the proof, as an elephant, considered a dangerous loner, makes the park unsafe. Now Wilson has a valid excuse.
Jeff Ashby plays an airline pilot, Tom Mitchell, in "Big Fish" Also, appearing in the episode, is English actress Isobel Black, wife of James Gatward, who produced the Elephant Boy series. Chief warden at the Namanpur Game Reserve, Karl Bergen, faces an unusual problem—how to fly a whale to Australia.
Padam, the former Maharajah, who still hopes that the reserve area will once again be his one day, does cultivation testings with corn on an experimental field. The catastrophic crops that threaten the rest of the country because of drought does not affect Padam's attempts, as he can irrigate his field from a deep-water fountain. When Bergen asks him to leave a part of the corn crops to the hungry reserve inhabitants, the former ruler shows himself indifferent.
A tourist who is in the reserve and meets Ranjit, Toomai's brother, decides to adopt the boy. She is convinced that the little one can not be adequately brought up under the sole care of his older brother, and immediately initiates all formalities necessary for adoption. Ranjit himself, however, sees quite differently: When he learns of the planned adoption, he hides in a bear's cave. He wants to stay with Toomai.
Two land surveyors enter the reservation area to assess the best route for a planned road. Karl Bergen is, of course, against the fact that a road runs through the reserve, but Padam does not want cars to drive through his land. When he realizes that the country champions are Clift and Slater, he wants to bribe them with a bet for the upcoming elephant race. But he is deceived by them.
Toomai helps archaeologist couple Dr. Scott and Dr. Fleur in their search for valuable cultural treasures on the Padam's property. In fact, they find a tomb with a house goddess. Yet Toomai regrets to have helped them when he learns that the tomb treasures are to be sent to a museum. His respect for the sacred traditions of his ancestors forbids him to offer further support to the archaeologists.
Because of an extreme fire risk in the reserve due to persistent drought, Mr. Marshall, an expert in fire fighting, arrives to lend a hand. When Marshall meets Toomai's elephant Kala Nag, the animal reacts full of joy and confidence. Marshall tells him that he knew Kala Nag's father well. Shortly thereafter, Bergen and a few of his men are trapped by a huge fire - and now they need help from Marshall and Kala Nag.
In the reserve area, two distinguished old ladies come up.They are old acquaintances of the former Maharajah Padam. As it turns out, they spent their childhood as daughters of a high English government official in the region and now want to visit the sites of their youth again. In spite of Karl Bergen's warnings, they do not want to be deterred from going deep into the jungle to find what once was their family's summer villa.
A man named Ryder claims to have been sent by the environmental agency to review any cases of water pollution. A dead mongoose found on the bank of the river seems to confirm his suspicion that toxic chemicals are being discharged into the waters. The culprit should be the Veere gem miners but they deny using chemicals. Bergen becomes suspicious and investigates Ryder.
An old student of Karl Bergen, Rick Madison, spends the honeymoon with his wife Erika in the reserve. They are looking for a special place for their camp to enjoy nature observation . Suddenly their servant Ali fall ill with a high fever. On the trip to the warden station where he wants to get help, Rick drinks from a canteen and shortly afterwards he shows the same symptoms as Ali's. Now Erika must be warned not to drink the contaminated water.
Once again Karl Bergen is visited by his old friend Kay Stevens. When Toomai observes that Kay is doing business with the deceptive merchant Imed, he decides to keep an eye on the matter. He finds out that Kay wants Imed to buy animal skins from a poacher. When Bergen learns of it, he can not believe he was so deceived by his old friend. And indeed, there seems a very respectable reason for her behavior.
When a young scientist named Jane Shorter comes to study in the reserve, the opinions about her are divided: while Toomai, with whom she crosses the jungle, is excited about the young woman. Sue Fraser and Karl Bergen are annoyed by their superior attitude. That's why they think it's rubbish that Jane wants to find the pygmy pig, because this species is almost extinct. Nevertheless, Toomai wants to prove Jane is right.
There's big money to be made in the trapping and smuggling out of Ceylon of exotic birds, and Robert Gary is part of a high-powered gang who are organising that lucrative crime in jungle areas that include Bergen's Game Reserve.
Sefton Buchmeister is an English sensationalist reporter, who accidentally lands in the reserve because of an engine trouble. When he hears that an injured tiger has torn cattle in a neighboring village, he feels very lucky: he hopes for a tiger hunt and thus a spectacular story. But Sue Fraser and Karl Bergen do not want to kill the animal, but rather to stun and treat it - much to the disappointment of Buchmeister, who is now trying to draw Padam on his side.
Karl Bergen has succeeded in convincing Padam to start a joint project: they want to have a watering canal that leads through the reserve area and also crosses a canyon. But the two men can't manage to win workers for this project: an ancient legend says that the ravine is the gateway to the underworld, guarded by dogs. And in fact, there are sounds that sound like the howling of dogs.