Elephant lovers slam export to Australia
06 May 2005

A local elephant-lovers group has expressed staunch opposition to the planned sale of nine Thai elephants to zoos in Australia and New Zealand.

"We do not want the elephants transferred to man-made living places because wild animals belong in the wild," said Soraida Salwala, founding director of the Friends of the Asian Elephant group.

"Judging by the experience of Burmese elephants, animals transferred to live in a zoo in Australia are having it bad. The care given to them is substandard."

The nine Thai jumbos set to be sent Down Under have lived on Mahidol University's Kanchanaburi campus for years. They were transferred there from Pang Chang, an elephant camp in Ayutthaya, Soraida said.

"Unfortunately, elephants are being used as bargaining chips by the Thai government in free-trade transactions," she said.

Soraida added that following consultations with Ian Campbell, Australia's minister for the environment and heritage, as well as several local animal rights associations, Australian authorities had agreed to reconsider the transaction pending the release of official clearance for the import of the Thai elephants.

"We have also petitioned the Thai government several times, but so far have received no response," she said.

"We urge the Thai government to reconsider selling the elephants because animals are not chattel to trade at will."

 

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Food sources for 100 wild elephants at risk
Bangkok Post, 04 April 2005, ONNUCHA HUTASINGH

Loei  - More than 100 wild elephants in Phu Luang Wildlife Sanctuary in Loei could end up hungry as drought and forest fires ravage their natural food sources.

Thinnakorn Pathor, of the Food Sources for Elephants in Phu Luang Project, said the drought was taking a heavy toll on wild animals, particularly elephants in the sanctuary covering several districts including Phu Luang as many brooks which were major water sources for the animals were running dry.

The project was royally initiated seven years ago to develop food sources for elephants.

About 120 wild elephants, each drinking about 200 litres of water a day, were badly affected due to insufficient water for consumption, he said.

"If there is no rain, wild animals will be in danger of starving. Lack of water and food may drive them to leave the forest and encroach on farmland to search for food,'' said Mr Thinnakorn.

The drought, coupled with forest fires, had destroyed natural food habitats of elephants, driving them to move closer to human communities in search for food. One elephant recently stomped on a local villager in forest boundary areas where residents normally collected wild products.

In February alone, Mr Thinnakorn said forest fires had burned about half the forest areas in the wildlife sanctuary.

All the fires resulted from human activities including hunting, food gathering and clearing for farmland. The fires had destroyed elephants' food habitats. Each animal needs 200-300 kilogrammes of plant food a day.

"Forest fires occur every year but in the past they never ravaged the Phu Luang Wildlife Sanctuary, which has high humidity,'' the official said. "This dry season caused the humidity to evaporate and allowed man-made forest fires to make their way into the sanctuary.''

Phu Luang is the watershed forest of the Loei river, which feeds local residents in the northeastern province before flowing into the Mekong river.

The Loei river never dried during dry seasons although this year water levels have become dangerously low.

Rapid development had led to forest destruction. Many forest areas in Phu Luang had turned into local farmland.

Phu Luang, the habitat of wild animals, is now surrounded by many villages and farm areas.

Forest authorities have set up electrified barbed wire fences along a 30km route in the eastern area of the forest to prevent elephants and other wild animals from encroaching on local farmland.

But no fencing was set up on the western part in Dan Sai district, causing residents to encroach on the forest to hunt for animals, illegally cut trees and collect wild products.

Mr Thinnakorn said project staff and forestry officials have launched a campaign to urge residents living around the wildlife sanctuary to make forests in their communities. Each village was asked to set aside a plot for tree planting activities, including bamboo trees and other wild plants.

About 30 villages have so far joined the campaign, he said.

"Tree planting is the forest management concept which focuses on the coexistence of people and forest. As people rely on the forest and its products, we have to instil a sense of sustainable forest management in their minds,'' said Mr Thinnakorn.

Ratchanee Thaimuang, assistant chief of the Wang Sai tambon administration organisation, said residents were not worried about dangers posed by elephants. One local resident was recently killed by a wild elephant, but most residents believed the victim had encroached on the forest and ran into the elephant, which stomped him to death.

"If people don't disturb the habitat of elephants, the elephants may not attack them. Local residents know they must not get close to areas where elephants live as they might encounter wild animals,'' she said.

 

 

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Roving jumbo lodged in hole for five hours
The Nation, 17 March 2005

A cow elephant broke through the cover of a sewer yesterday and spent almost five hours jammed in a four-metre-deep drain before being rescued.

Major Worachote Areerak of Samrong Neu police station said the three-tonne elephant, called Phang Lamyai, fell into the 1.2-metre-square access hole in front of Chulavej Hospital in Muang Samut Prakan at about midnight.

A veterinarian gave the 51-year-old elephant injections of painkillers and minerals. Then a rescue team using a crane, a backhoe and trucks managed to haul her out of the sewer after 4.30am.

Worachote said mahout Banyat Salangam, 22, had brought the elephant to the city from Buri Ram's Satuk district three days earlier, to make money selling fruit to people to feed her. He said Banyat was apparently drunk when the elephant stepped on the cover that collapsed and caught her hind legs in the drain.

The elephant sustained wounds to her hind legs, belly, the joints of her front legs and her tail during her struggle to get out of the hole. The vet said the elephant, with a dose of 2,000cc of painkiller, would take 10-15 hours to recover from its ordeal.

Police charged Banyat with taking the elephant on to a road and blocking traffic, an offence punishable by a Bt500 fine. [return]

 

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'Unite' to save the elephant
The Nation, 14 March 2005

The director of Dusit Zoo yesterday commemorated Thai Elephant Day with an urgent call for a united effort to protect the giant mammals before it is too late.

"The country had more than 10,000 elephants 30 years ago. Now there are only 2,000 left," Visit Wichasila, a veterinarian, said. He said everyone must join hands in the conservation of Thai elephants now or else the country would not have any left in the future.

The Dusit Zoo held various activities with elephant themes on Saturday and yesterday to mark the day. A lot of children took part in the activities from walking rallies to quizzes and drawing. A three-dimension animation movie on the elephant was shown as well.

"We should take care of and love the elephants," 11-year-old Sunisa Trakudngern said while visiting the zoo with her family.
Alongkorn Chukaew, who campaigns for the protection of elephants, said humans should stop threatening the existence of elephants through refraining from consuming elephant meat and using products made of elephant parts.

 

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Mae Sa stage is set for elephant spectacular today
The Nation, 12 March 2005, Atsadaporn Kamthai

 

Chiang Mai - Mae Sa Elephant Camp was the venue for a Guinness World Record that attracted thousands of spectators to see eight elephants painting abstract works in anticipation of the 6th National Thai Elephant Day tomorrow.

National Thai Elephant Day highlights the plight of elephants and promotes environmental conservation, which due to encroachment has caused a dramatic fall in numbers of the majestic animals in the Kingdom. Since its inception in 1998, people have become more aware of the decline in elephant numbers, said Anchalee Kalmapijit, a director of the Mae Sa Elephant Camp, adding that the elephant was praised as a national symbol by the Cabinet on February 1.

Veterinarians are alarmed at the elephants' decline, said Dr Ronnachit Rungsri, a vet at Mae Sa Elephant Camp.

"Three out of 100 elephants die each year due to poor treatment and disease. Among these untimely deaths, the majority of them are young, which causes an imbalance in the elephant population," Ronnachit said.

The camp currently houses 77 elephants, 30 of which are under 20 years of age.

"Elephants can live for up to 70-80 years. But, the problem is that some of them are not properly taken care of by their owners, which leads to untimely deaths", said Ronnachit.

"This has contributed to a low rate of births that has been exacerbated by unsuccessful artificial breeding techniques."

He predicted that in the next 10 years - if elephants continue to be mistreated and artificial breeding techniques remain unsuccessful - the population in Thailand might be less than 1,000, against the current 4,500-5,000.

Amid this concern, the Mae Sa Elephant Camp in cooperation with the Veterinary Medicine Faculties, Chiang Mai and Kasetsart universities and the Thai Elephant Conser-vation Centre in Lampang, in 2003 began a trial project of breeding elephants artificially.

"There has been little success so far but the cost of artificial breeding in Germany is too high, at Bt1 million. It is better if Thailand could do the breeding itself," Ronnachit said.

Festivities for National Thai Elephant Day at Mae Sa Elephant Camp will begin at midday and continue to 4pm. Admission is free.

The highlights are expected to be the elephant fruit banquet, which will cater for 70 animals.

Also, the "Special Young Elephant Show Off" will be staged at 2.30pm, where visitors have the chance to observe elephants' skills such as painting and football.

 

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Elephant painting fetches record price
The Nation, 20 February 2005, Kwandao Jitpana

 

CHIANG MAI - A painting by eight elephants from this northern province has sold for a world-record Bt1.5 million.

Mae Sa Elephant Camp said yesterday that Guinness World Records had confirmed the purchase as the highest amount ever paid for such an artwork. US-based Thai Phanit Warin, 60, bought the painting.

Using their trunks, the elephants spent five hours yesterday working on the painting, called "Wind, Mist, Lanna Charm Number One". It was cut in half when completed, and one half will be kept at the camp for tourists.

The elephants used acrylic colours on the 2.4-metre-high, six-metre-long canvass. Two artists, Thosapol Petchratanakul and Cholsith Chorsakul, prepared and mixed colours for the elephants, while mahouts passed the animals brushes and other materials. Two to three elephants took turns painting at a time. A team from the elephant camp prepared food and water for the elephants as well as a tent so that they could rest between brush strokes.

Anchalee Galmaphichit, operation manager of the camp, said the elephants, whose painting skills varied, had trained for five years with prominent artists before beginning the work.

Hundreds of people, including Kim Lacey, who rules on all Guinness animal world records, witnessed the event. Lacey said it was amazing to see animals do the same things as humans.

Anchalee said the objective of the exercise was to show the potential of Thai elephants and promote Chiang Mai.

The Guinness Book of World Records sells more than 100 million copies in 37 languages a year. Phanit said she was an elephant-lover and often visited the camp when back in Thailand. She said she would pass on the painting to the government so that it could be kept as part of the country's heritage.

 

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New Elephant Haven
A natural home for our herd
by Sangduen Chailert

Story about Lek Chialert's amazing efforts to help Thailand's elephants - Elephant Nature Park - Chiangmai

The 16 of April 2003 saw the dawning of a new era for our herd in Northern Thailand. It was the first time our growing herd of sixteen elephants were united as they moved towards their new sanctuary. Max, Lilly, Jokia and Mae Perm were in the first group to arrive as we continued to walk the rest of the group towards this Elephant Haven. There is plenty of grass for them and the big river is so loved by the herd where they swim and relax to their hearts content. The area is large enough for them to have space where they can live as natural a life as possible.

I look around as this great grey herd start forming their social groups of friends and acquaintances.

Max, the huge bull, loves to spend a lot of his time unwinding alone in the river. When Lilly wades in Max starts to join her and follows her every-where. At first Lilly does not seem to like Max's intrusions, she was always quite solitary and preferred her own company in the jungle. One night Max lay down to sleep and in the morning could not stand up. He cannot bend his leg after the road accident where a truck hit him when he was living in Bangkok, Lilly was happy to pull him up so that he can stand. After this Max started to like Lilly a lot and pleased her by touching and cuddling her with his trunk. Lilly started to accept him fondly after this and they soon became firm friends.

Hope, the young bull, and Jabu are the last two to arrive at their new home on the 17 April. The first day Hope arrived he was so excited at his new big, lush surroundings and more so to see so many big elephants. Never shy he was quick to introduce himself to Max and Lilly. As he first stepped towards Max he turned, circled and began sniffing and smelling him with his trunk. He found that Max and Lilly were friendly and did not mind his company. He approached Max, going under his tall body many times and leaning against the pillars of Max's long front legs. Lilly also accepted Hope from the beginning and began to play with him as a big mother elephant would. We were very excited to see Hope walk to Mae Perm - the grand mother matriarch elephant who we are preparing to adopt Hope. This was not easy at first as Mae Perm has been taking care of the blind elephant called Jokia who became a little nervous when Hope went near them. Mae Perm communicated with her all the time letting her know what was going on and calming Jokia down.

Hope approached Mae Perm many times but she walked away, seemingly uninterested. He tried hard to win over her affections but his long time companion Jabu is very emotional and jealous. She doesn't want to lose their special friendship with Hope and wants him to be exclusively with her. Each time Hope went close to Mae Perm she would go between them and push Hope away. On the second day Mae Perm pushed Jabu out from the herd and it took three days for Mae Perm, along with Jokia, to accept Hope and Jabu back into this tightly knit group.

Mae Perm, Jokia and Hope then introduced themselves to Mae Keaw (Minimy) who kindly welcomed him for the beginning. Now Mea Keaw follows him everywhere and treats young Hope as her own son, swimming and walking everywhere with him. Normally Mae Keaw doesn't like to be with the rest of the group and is not keen on Jokia, but today she decides to move to join the herd. She hopes to be the favoured mother of Hope wishing to take care of this little orphan. The females are fine with him but acceptance by the males may prove much more difficult. We are deeply worried that the big herd bulls Pooky and Boonkhum might reject Hope and may attack him.

We decided to move the two bull far from where Hope stays. On the 19 April as Pooky enjoys a morning bath Hope plunges into the river to swim in the company of his new mothers. He paddles slowly and cautiously towards Pooky. He then begins to swim with the large bull and crawls over his back as Pooky lies down in the river. Surprisingly Pooky did not mind him at all. We all stood apprehensively and silently by the river bank fearing a rebuttal or even an attack. Finally Hope succeeds in his task to win the young bulls acceptance. With only Boonkhum left for the youngster to convert he seems to be forming a cult. This will have to wait as the generally solitary Boonkhum relishes his own private time and is in no hurry to be bothered by a young male impostor.

Today all our herd come together in the new land area which is now their permanent home. The female and babies stay in their natural group in the jungle as the bulls walk by, foraging their favourite food. I view them from the small bamboo huts we have built. There are tears in my eyes, tears of happiness and joy. Around me elephants enjoy this freedom of space and time. This is what I have dreamed of for many, many years. Now the dream has come true as I look at the herd enjoying the haven. I have always dreamed that some day our herd will have a safe-home land. Now I am looking at it, right in front of my eyes.

Special thanks for Bert von Roemer and Serengeti Foundation who provided this haven land and a home for our wonderful herd.

[Ed]: The new land is some 55 km from Chiang Mai in Mae Taeng District.
Sangduen Chailert's (Lek's) continuous work encompasses a large range of professionals, volunteers, friends and helpers from throughout the country and abroad. For more information and photos see  http://www.thaifocus.com/elephant/

 

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Artists join elephant understudies in cash drive
Institute says public service overlooked in govt drive to raise revenue
Bangkok Post, 01 November 2004, PIYAPORN WONGRUANG

Young mahout Sombat Pinjai is startled when artist Somchai Wacharasombat flips a paint brush in his hand to spray colour on the canvas in front of him.

The paint from Mr Somchai's brush spreads on the canvas and mixes with multi-coloured lines created by Sombat's elephant Phlai Khaew, turning the canvas into something like an abstract painting that the artist describes as a meeting place between the sun, the river, and nature as a whole.

"It's good that they come to help us,'' said the 21-year-old mahout who showed his elephant how to ``paint'' a few years ago. But this was the first time he had seen an artist working with his charge.

Mr Somchai and 20 other artists, including Suchart Vongthong, last week travelled from Bangkok to the National Elephant Institute to produce art works in a bid to raise public awareness about the plight of elephants and increase funds to support the institute's works.

A painting by an elephant, if sold, can raise extra money for the institute.

"People often talk about the fate of elephants, but hardly any one does anything to help,'' said Wittaya Khem-nguad, the event's co-organiser, who has been interested in helping elephants since visiting the institute two years ago.

"We have tried to think of ways to increase the value of elephants, and we know that art is one way we can do this.

"Just think about how one of these artists' signatures boosts the value of a work of art,'' he said.

For more than 10 years, the institute, formerly known as the Elephant Conservation Centre, has been providing training for both elephants and mahouts, treatment for elephants, running tourism activities and conducting research.

Director Preecha Puangkham said the institute, which cares for about 50 elephants, at least 80 mahouts and employs other veterinarians and workers, has been under pressure from the government to stand on its own financially.

He said the institute has a yearly income of about 40 million baht, with most of the money coming from tourism.

However, it spends more than 50 million baht on wages, resulting in a loss of up to 20 million baht some years.

While running costs were high, Dr Preecha said, the institute could not easily adjust its operations, particularly in tourism, to compete with private operators. And while tourism could be further developed to raise more income, there were definite limits.

No one wanted to over-burden elephants or mahouts in the drive to make more money from tourism.

The government focused too much on making money but failed to appreciate the institute's contribution in the form of public service, he said.

The institute could earn 3,000-5,000 baht each time it treated an elephant, if fees were charged.

Sometimes, if no charge was levied people assumed a particular service had no value. This was not the case.

"By developing our strength in academic activities and public services, the institute could become more sustainable in the long run.

"One day we could become a breeding centre for Asian elephants. The benefit would be huge and worth much more than offering elephant rides,'' Dr Preecha said. The institute now offered new tourist attractions such as homestays and was looking for ways to increase the value of existing services without shifting the burden to the elephants.

"I have to follow government policies, and we will do our best. But if it can't be done, it can't be done. Elephants are the country's most precious animals, above all,'' Dr Preecha said.

 

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Elephant-less city the result of cooperation
Bangkok Post, 06 September 2004

Authorities must continue working together or elephants will again return in large numbers to Bangkok streets, the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department has warned.

Despite growing satisfaction with efforts to remove the beasts from the capital, department chief Somchai Pienstapor said now was no time for complacency.

Mahouts could again bring their animals to Bangkok if they take advantage of a lack of serious coordinating efforts by the various agencies, he said.

Seven elephants and their keepers have been sent from Bangkok to the 16,600-rai Bang Phra Wildlife Sanctuary in Chon Buri's Si Racha district since Aug 16, thanks to the cooperation of all agencies, including police, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and offices under the Agriculture and Cooperatives, and Natural Resources and Environment ministries.

All were given clear roles after the government demanded agencies join hands to end the problem, Mr Somchai said.

The department estimates between 150 and 200 elephants are in the Bangkok area.

A 1362 hot line has been set up for residents to call any time they see elephants roaming in Bangkok.

Last month, a special Natural Resources and Environment Ministry task force operated around the clock to remove all roaming elephants from Bangkok.

"The 16,600-rai opf land in the Bang Phra Wildlife Sanctuary in Chon Buri will be a halfway house for the elephants until we can send them to a shelter, probably in Lampang or Mae Hong Son,'' said Apiwut Suksri of the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department.

"We have experienced veterinarians and our own mahouts in order to keep the animals happy,'' he said.

 

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Halfway house for elephants to clear capital
Bangkok Post, 31 August 2004, TUL PINKAEW

Chon Buri. A halfway house for elephants removed from the streets of Bangkok was up and running yesterday after the authorities last week arrested several mahouts in a major crackdown to rid the capital of the animals.

A wildlife official claims there are currently no more elephants roaming the streets of the capital.

"The 16,600 rai plot located in the Bangpra Wildlife Sanctuary, Sriracha district, Chon Buri will be a halfway house for the elephants until we can send them to an elephant shelter probably in Lampang or Mae Hong Son," said Apiwut Suksri of the National Park Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department. "We have experienced veterinarians and our own mahouts in order to keep the animals happy."

Last week, a special taskforce assembled by the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry operated around the clock in order to remove all the roaming elephants from Bangkok. The team was able to round up seven elephants and arrested at least 11 mahouts and trainers.

"The mahouts and trainers we arrested last week will be punished to the maximum, that means up to four years in jail," said Mr Apiwut. "We will not tolerate the torturing of these animals anymore and I am pleased to say since our crackdown there has been no sightings of elephants in Bangkok."

 

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Motala will get artificial leg one year from now
Bangkok Post, 28 August 2004

 

Five years ago, cow elephant Motala was admitted to Elephants' Hospital in Hang Chat district after stepping on a landmine in a Burmese forest. She is doing well and will be fitted with a platform shoe-like artificial leg in a year.

Veterinarian Preecha Puangkham, a medical adviser to Elephants' Hospital, said Friends of the Asian Elephant Foundation yesterday held a blessing ceremony for Motala, so she would be ready to have an artificial leg fitted to her maimed front left leg one year from now. ''Designing the leg took much longer than expected, and her front left leg wounds have now recovered,'' he said.

 

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Calf dies after eating bodhi leaves
Questions Being Asked
Bangkok Post, 02 August 2004, CHAIWAT SADYAEM

Prachuap Khiri Khan . A four-year-old elephant died on Saturday night after its owner said it ate leaves from a tree growing behind a petrol station. However, authorities believe the elephant might have been tortured before it fell ill and died. The male calf, Plai Thongkham, was on a truck carrying a placard reading ''Pongphat elephant show team''.

The elephant's owner, Bunpheng Utthawat, 40, from Surin province, said the calf, which weighed about 700 kg with one-foot-long tusks, died after eating leaves from a bodhi (pipal) tree growing behind a petrol station in tambon Koh Lak in Prachuap Khiri Khan's Muang district. After eating the leaves, the elephant suffered acute diarrhoea, he said. However, police were not convinced and said veterinarians will be called in to help establish the cause of death.

Mr Bunpheng said his team provided elephant shows at various tourist attractions in the South and the dead calf was the star. They had performed at a private elephant camp in Hua Hin for four months and were heading south to Krabi province when the calf died. A source said the elephant owner failed to present a transfer document for the animal.

Prakob Chamnarnkit, vice chairman of the Thai Elephant Foundation, said owners of elephants had to seek permission from livestock authorities before transferring their animals. He said he will ask local livestock authorities to check whether the owner of the dead calf had sought permission or not.

Sources said the smuggling of elephant calves was rampant along the Thai-Burmese border. The demand for calves is high in Thailand, particularly at resorts which want the elephants to entertain guests, they said.

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Elephant electrocuted by dangling wires
Bangkok Post, 30 July 2004, Manop Thip-osot

A four-year-old bull elephant brought by its owner to Bangkok to beg for food was electrocuted yesterday morning. Suthep Suklert, the keeper and owner of Phlai Toto, said he heard the elephant cry out in pain while grazing in the field in Soi Thian Thalay 7 in Bang Khun Thian district.

He looked and saw the elephant struggling with electrical wires and spewing smoke, before he collapsed and died. Mr Suthep said electrical wires connected to a house had broken and fallen on Phlai Toto. He held a funeral rite for the elephant yesterday and plans to take its body home to Surin's Tha Tum district for burial.

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Jumbo Music

The Thai Elephant Orchestra featuring trained jumbos playing musical instruments, is about to release its second CD album.

Richard Lair of the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre in Hang Chat district, Lampang, said last year the Forestry Industry Organisation successfully launched the first album of five elephants playing large versions of the xylophone, gong and drum, with over 700 CDs sold in the US.

American Mulatta Records Co plans to introduce the second album late next month, targeting the US and Europe. Part of the income will go to the FIO's elephant care programme.

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Elephants Stay Away As Pepper Does the Trick
The Nation (Nairobi), 01 July 2004

Farmers in Laikipia are planting pepper around other crops to keep away elephants. The project of the Laikipia Wildlife Forum aims at tackling the human-wildlife conflict. Elephants are known to hate pepper.

According to a community conservation officer with LWF, Mr Josephat Musyimi, the method has been successfully used in Zimbabwe. He expressed optimism that it would work in Kenya. The farmers will also burn elephant dung combined with chilli oil to chase away the animals.

At demonstration plots in the Habahaba area, initial reports say elephants are avoiding farms fenced with ropes smeared with chilli oil, Mr Musyimi said. He was addressing visiting East African Legislative Assembly members at Lewa Conservancy.

Meanwhile, elephants have destroyed more than 100 acres of crop in Kabaru, near the Mt Kenya Forest in Nyeri District, in the past three months. Residents of Island Farm Settlement Scheme are now threatening to kill the animals unless Kenya Wildlife Service urgently acts to tame them.

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Private Firms Seek Freer Elephant Trade
Bangkok Post, 15 June 2004, Somsak Suksai - Lampang

Private business groups are pushing the government to agree to free trade in the selling of elephants and their products, an elephant welfare advocate claimed.

Soraida Salwada, secretary-general of Friends of the Asian Elephant Foundation, said some private firms are lobbying the Natural Resource and Environment Ministry to agree to free trade measures at the upcoming Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Bangkok.

"Some private firms want the government to agree on free trade in elephants, particularly those in the care of the Forest Industry Organisation. The private firms have tried to convince the government that there are many elephants which can be used for commercial purpose. Our foundation has strongly opposed the move,'' said Miss Soraida.

Smuggling of elephants was already rampant and authorities have done little to crack down on these smugglers, she said. The elephants and ivory trade yielded handsome profits to these gangs, which were backed by influential figures, she added.

If free trade in elephants is established, the country's elephants will soon face extinction, she said, citing the small jumbo population. There are only 2,600 domestic elephants under the care of the private and state sectors. The number of wild elephants in Thai forests remains only 2,000, she said.

She also expressed concern over the plight of elephants forced to roam city streets by some of their handlers and to haul logs by northern timber traders.

Wild Elephants Raid Orchard
Bangkok Post, 17 May 2004, Trat

A herd of 11 wild elephants raided an orchard in Bo Rai district over the weekend, feasting on durians, coconuts and bananas, and causing 2 to 3 million baht in damages.

The ravenous elephants roamed through over 100 rai of the orchard belonging to five farmers in tambon Nong Bon. They ate produce, uprooted fruit trees and damaged water pipes and sprinklers on the farm. The farmers yesterday left their orchards unattended fearing that the elephants would return.

Sompong Khamhan, the village head, said the herd, which included two calves, inhabited the forests in Bo Rai and the adjacent Khlung district of Chanthaburi. Two elephants had pillaged Bo Rai orchards last year but the entire herd showed up for the party this year.

Mr Sompong will arrange for assistance for the affected farmers and told his villagers not to hurt the elephants. Locals were advised to fire guns into the air or light firecrackers to scare off the animals.

New Highway Planned to Let Herds Mingle
Animals will pass beneath raised road
Bangkok Post, 26 April 2004, Wassana Nanuam

A 17-km elevated highway is to be built through Khao Yai and Thap Lan national parks to allow wild elephant herds to mix and end 30 years of inbreeding. The highway, to cost about 1.3 billion baht to build, will replace the Kabin Buri-Pakthong Chai road, which experts say poses "a biological barrier'' for wildlife, especially elephants. Heavy traffic and fast driving prevents elephants from crossing from Khao Yai in Nakhon Ratchasima to forage and mate with herds in Thap Lan park on the other side of the road.

The elephants were forced to mate solely within their own herds. This inbreeding, common since the road was built more than 30 years ago, was weakening the bloodlines of the herds in Khao Yai, the chairman of the Khao Yai National Park Protection Foundation, Privy Councillor Gen Surayud Chulanont said. The Kabin Buri-Pakthong Chai road was paved with funding from the United States government as a supply route during the Vietnam War. It cuts precisely along the Khao Yai-Thap Lan border, separating two of the country's richest forest reserves both in terms of geography and wildlife biology. The Thap Lan park is also adjacent to Pang Sida National Park in neighbouring Prachin Buri and Sa Kaeo. A Khao Yai National Park survey confirmed the route contributed to the destruction of bio-diversity and the ecological system.

Gen Surayud said the road restricted the nomadic existence of around 600 elephants roaming the three national parks. Inbreeding had weakened the animals, lowering their lifespans. The planned highway will be about five metres above ground. Once it is open the existing Kabin Buri-Pakthong Chai road will be closed, enabling the animals to pass back and forth. Thap Lan has the largest population, about 300 animals. Gen Surayud also said villagers in Wang Nam Khieu district of Nakhon Ratchasima had sworn off felling sandalwood trees in Khao Yai National Park. The valuable fragrant wood fetches up to 2,400 baht per small twig and is in high demand in the Middle East.

The villagers were offered substitute jobs such as tour guides, pesticide-free vegetable farming and giving herbal massage to tourists. The former army chief said he would enter the monkhood for three months in July at a temple in the Northeast, fulfilling a wish he declared before retiring two years ago.

Keep off Ivory Products, says VP
By VPPS, East African Standard, 14 April 2004

Vice-President Moody Awori has appealed to the international community not to accept products made of ivory. Mr Awori said buying such products such as wildlife trophies encouraged poaching and singled out the elephant, which is one of the most endangered species in the world.

Awori made the remarks at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and Elephant Orphanage at the Nairobi National Park during the Launch of the Nakumatt/Samsung Smart Card Promotion where he was the Chief Guest. Nakumatt and Samsung donated Sh100,000 towards the trust being run by Dr Daphne Sheldrick who is looking after nine young orphaned elephants and Rhinos.

Awori said it was regrettable that despite their beauty, man continues to decimate precious wildlife for selfish reasons. He appealed to those countries with stocks of wildlife products in Africa and other parts of the world to destroy them as a show of solidarity in conservation.

"All countries in Africa having stockpiles of ivory should be encouraged to set ivory on fire as it was done in Kenya several years ago,? he added. Awori said there is need to exempt duty on imported milk formulas as ways of assisting conservators meet the daily food ration for the orphaned wildlife. The elephant orphans take 45 litres of milk daily.

Mr Awori paid tribute to Nakumatt and Samsung for donating funds towards the orphanage and called on others in the private sector to emulate the gesture. Nakumatt Managing Director Haku Shah and his Samsung counterpart Albert Kim pledged continued support from their companies to community service in Kenya. The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has reared and rehabilitated back into the wild over 54 elephant calves orphaned in early infancy. Through the Trust inputs, other elephants orphaned elsewhere in Africa have also been saved.

Special squad to round up jumbos
Proof of origin needed to reclaim animals
Bangkok Post, 26 March 2004, Ranjana Wangvipula

A special squad under the national parks department will round up elephants and handlers in Bangkok next month. The National Elephant Policy Committee approved a new campaign last month to keep roaming elephants away from Bangkok.

Mahouts have been given until next month to remove their animals. The new Roaming Elephants Centre has a team of 20 state mahouts, police, and forestry staff who can head to spots where elephants are seen. The public is asked to report sightings on a 24-hour 1326 hotline, said Somchai Pienstaporn, chief of the National Park, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation Department.

The elephants would be taken to Kanchanaburi, Mae Hong Son, and Prachin Buri provinces, he said. If their handlers want them back, they must have proof the elephants were not illegally brought in from neighbouring countries. Plodprasop Suraswadi, permanent secretary for natural resources and environment, said he believed half the 200 elephants roaming Bangkok were smuggled in from Burma and Cambodia.

Mr Somchai said elephants could be sent to help forestry staff patrol protected forests. Under the scheme, 88 elephants and their handlers work as government employees in 15 national parks and 10 wildlife refuges nationwide.

This scheme has had mixed reviews, with critics saying elephants and mahouts have been unable to adjust to life in the forest.

INTERNATIONAL ELEPHANT RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

Presented by the International Elephant Foundation and the Fort Worth Zoo
December 3-5, 2004
Fort Worth, Texas

The International Elephant Foundation and the Fort Worth Zoo are pleased to announce the International Elephant Research Symposium December 3-5, 2004. This important symposium will concentrate on the research and conservation needs of captive and wild populations of elephants. We invite researchers from around the world to present conservation projects and research results on elephant management, health, nutrition, reproduction and behavior. Papers specifically addressing reproduction, calf management and elephant well-being are particularly encouraged. More details to come! Check the IEF and Fort Worth Zoo websites for more information on the call for papers at www.elephantconservation.org and www.fortworthzoo.org.

Abstracts (no more than 250 words) can be mailed to Tarren Wagener at Fort Worth Zoo, 1989 Colonial Parkway, Fort Worth, Texas 76110 or emailed to
elephantsymposium@fortworthzoo.org. If e-mailing abstracts, please include all of the information above. The abstract should be written as a mini-version of the paper and should contain enough information to allow evaluation of the project. The deadline for abstracts is June 1, 2004. Following notice of acceptance in July, a complete version of the paper will be required by October 1, 2004.

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ELEPHANT SYMPOSIUM

Elephant Management & Owners Association and North West Parks & Tourism Board
To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of EMOA
13 - 17 September 2004
Bakgatla, Pilanesberg National Park, NW Province, South Africa

Since its inauguration EMOA has held 7 successful workshops on various topics related to elephant management. At the end of last year EMOA launched
the process of a national elephant policy in conjunction with Government. EMOA has increasingly gained in reputation, and, being the only elephant
organisation within South Africa, endeavours to take the lead in issues pertaining to elephant management.

In the early years translocation of elephants was an important management tool and at the centre of interest. However, most established reserves,
private or official, have reached their full elephant carrying capacity and are faced with a whole set of new problems. The most pressing issue is that
of elephant overpopulation, and there are few options for management intervention. There are very few suitable reserves left to which elephants can be translocated to; immuno-contraception seems viable only for small populations at this stage; and culling is only a last option due to public opinion, ethical considerations and costs involved in such an undertaking. Clearly new ways of managing elephant overpopulation need to be developed. The symposium endeavours to bring together current research on all aspects of management of free ranging elephant populations and wild elephant populations restricted by fences, either private or official. These presentations will be the background for a workshop to discuss and develop innovative ideas on conservation of elephants within South Africa, and their management. Some exciting ideas have been put forward. South Africa is the only county on the continent that allows private ownership of wildlife and has so many fences around its reserves. It is time that current conservation strategies be reviewed to accommodate a new generation of people.

Preliminary Agenda: (Will be ammended as presentations come in)
Monday 13 September Arrival and Registration
17h00 Welcome cocktail around the pool at Bakgatla
Tuesday 14 September Key Note address: Dr Holly Dublin (Chairperson African Elephant Specialist Group)
Presentations: (preliminary arbitrary order of the first confirmed talks. Note: list will increase and change)
Rudi van Aarde: Nurturing metapopulation dynamics as an alternative conservation measure for elephants across southern Africa
Ron Thompson: Culling as a necessary management tool
Space for Elephant Foundation: A vision of a biosphere in northern Maputoland
Gladman Buthelezi: The Swaziland-Pongola TFCA
Jozua Viljoen: Elephant impact on vegetation pre translocation
Markus Hofmeyr: Moving elephants to the Greater Limpopo TFCA
Ian Whyte: Current options for management of elephants
Jozua Viljoen: Baseline for faecal cortisol in free-ranging elephants
Neville Pitts: How not to kill an elephant: effects of scoline in elephants 16h00 Evening and night drive through park to Pilanesberg- Elephant-Back-Safari operation for interaction with trained elephants and sundowners & snacks
Wednesday 15 September Presentations (preliminary; will be added to as papers come in)
Rob Slotow and his co-workers/students from University of Natal Graham Kerely and his co-workers/students from University of Port Elizabeth
17h00 Game Drive and Bush Braai in Pilanesberg
Thursday 16 September Workshop
16h00 ca end and free evening
Friday 17 September Excursion to Marakele Game Reserve
We will be given a briefing by Marakele conservation officials on their management actions with elephants.

WORKSHOP SESSION
Are we able to ensure the conservation of elephants and biodiversity with our current approach?
The workshop is to develop possible scenarios for the future.

What are scenarios?
As per the IUCN publication protected Areas in 2003. Scenarios for an uncertain future. Presented to the 5th World Congress on Protected Areas,
Durban: Scenario planning highlights the major forces that may push the future in different directions, and creates stories that stimulate thinking of
alternative possible futures. Good scenarios are plausible, internally consistent, and realistically include both perceived favourable and unfavourable elements. Scenario planning can also involve a wide community of different stakeholders, thereby helping to reveal expectations and values held by these different groups. Predictions, forecasts, and projections help inform scenarios, which are simply stories designed to stimulate new ways of thinking about the future. By enabling managers to consider different possible futures, new risks and opportunities will become apparent and help lead to better decision making. Protected area managers are faced by a world that is changing rapidly, and where opinions and values range widely. Scenario planning is an important tool for coping more effectively with risks and uncertainties faced by protected areas.

Goal of the workshop
The most plausible scenario/s is/are to be taken forward to lay a foundation for developing a proposal for a possible strategy for conservation in South
Africa (or southern Africa?). Key issues need to be identified, such as research priorities regarding management of elephants, especially in confined areas; possible ways of coordinating research to guide and inform on a strategy and others.

Topics
Intervention management: Culling, translocation, hunting, sustainable utilisation, contraception; fences
Conservation strategies: New ideas, mega parks, transfrontier parks, corridors; any other?

Elephant retraining scheme misses target
Dept to ease age limit for in-forest project
Bangkok Post, 06 March 2004, Ranjana Wangvipula

A 21-million baht project to send roaming elephants to patrol in forests has fallen short of the target, forcing the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry to ease admission rules. The ministry scheme, now entering its second year, takes elephants and their handlers out of streets in Bangkok and other big cities by offering mahouts work in forests. But it has lured only 88 jumbos from the projected 200. That prompted Natural Resources and Environment Minister Praphat Panyachartrak to announce that rules, including age limits previously blocking the beasts under 15 year old from applying, must be changed to attract ''city elephants'' and enable them to adapt easily to forests.

''The minister has asked us to admit elephants under 15 years of age,'' said Preecha Ratanaporn, director of the Wildlife Conservation Areas Unit. The ministry hoped that the new rules could satisfy the demand of mahouts, who expressed concerns last year that age limits would hinder some applicants. Prior to the rule change, the ministry wanted elephants from 15 to 45 years of age to take part.

The plan began a year ago with 100 elephants joining but 80 were withdrawn. An initial evaluation after the first year revealed that elephants and handlers could not adapt themselves to daily life in deep forests. Plodprasop Suraswadi, the ministry's permanent secretary, said some mahouts pulled out because they feared spirits and their feet were too soft for travelling on rough paths in forests. Despite the problem, Mr Preecha said the ministry continued to send elephants to roam in national parks and wildlife refugees and was confident about improving prospects.

''That is usual. It's like taking Bangkok folk to trek in forests,'' the official said. Elephants and handlers needed time to adapt and if they could not do the patrol work, they could still serve for tourist purposes, he said. Alongkorn Mahannop, a veterinarian and a board member of the Asian Elephant Foundation of Thailand , said the problem of roaming elephants could not solved by one method alone.

The government could build elephant camps for tourists in the northeastern provinces of Surin and Buri Ram to stop the animals wandering in big cities. Last year in Bangkok alone, up to 202 mahouts rode their elephants on busy streets, asking pedestrians to buy food for the jumbos as a way to earn money.

The programme was undertaken by the foundation of Thailand in 2001 before getting support from the ministry last year. It began with two elephants by giving them training for a year and sending them to patrol Kaeng Sua Ten in the Mae Yom National Park in Phrae on Elephant Day on March 13, 2002. On Elephant Day this year, according to its president, Suvit Yodmani, the group plans to organise a three-day kayak rally at Chang Island in Trat to raise funds for elephant conservation activities.

Mahout killed by sex-crazed elephant
Bangkok Post, 26 February 2004, BURI RAM

A bull elephant belonging to Chart Thai MP Chai Chidchob gored and trampled its handler to death yesterday after being interrupted while attempting to woo potential mates.

Thai Yamdee, 40, suffered severe gashes and multiple broken bones after the 20-year-old pachyderm turned on him in a forest near Nong Phai village, in the Ban Dan sub-district of Buri Ram province.

Eyewitness Somporn Homniam said the crazed beast charged when the mahout attempted to drive it away from two cow elephants. Thai sustained deep gashes to the neck and back, and was trampled several times, Mr Somporn said.

The elephant was later sedated by Veerasak Pintawong, a veterinarian from the National Elephant Research and Health Care Centre, located in Surin province.

Elephant Protection Boosted
Mobile phone tracking system to reduce human-wildlife conflict
PAUL UDOTO, Daily Nation (Kenya) on the Web
February 20, 2004

Save the Elephants chief executive Iain Douglas-Hamilton shows Environment assistant minister Wangari Maathai how wildlife movements are monitored using a mobile telephone device at Hilton Hotel, Nairobi, yesterday. With them is Safaricom boss Michael Joseph.

A project that uses the latest mobile telephone tracking equipment in elephant conservation was launched yesterday. It is expected to drastically reduce human-wildlife conflict and elephant poaching in parts of northern Kenya. The two-year project, estimated to cost Sh28 million, will cover Samburu, Isiolo and Laikipia.

The equipment uses mobile provider Safaricom's Global System for Mobile Communication technology. The tracking technology, jointly run by Safaricom and Save the Elephants ·a local wildlife conservation organisation ·will provide more accurate information on areas suitable for reintroduction of wild animals and their movements.

Speaking during the launch of the project at Hilton Hotel, Nairobi, Environment assistant minister Wangari Maathai said the new technology would
secure elephants and help track other endangered species, especially birds. She regretted that birds in most parts of the country had been endangered by food insecurity because of large scale cultivation of sugarcane, tea and coffee.

The Save the Elephants GSM Animal Tracking Project is funded by Safaricom Foundation and Vodafone and will provide more accurate information on
wildlife corridors, feeding and drinking locations as well as potential high-risk zones. Prof Maathai said 60 to 70 per cent of Kenya's wildlife was found outside protected areas where human settlement and encroachment on buffer zones threatened conservation efforts.

Dr Iain Douglas-Hamilton, the chief executive of Save the Elephants, said the new technology would make it easier to predict and respond to potential
human-wildlife conflict zones. Saboti MP Davies Nakitare asked technology experts to consider developing a microchip to be tagged on the tracked animals' ears and a remote control to prevent elephants from moving into conflict prone areas. Safaricom's chief executive Michael Joseph regretted that Kenya's elephant population had dropped from 170,000 in 1963 to the current 16,000. Mr Patrick Omondi, the national coordinator of elephant conservation, feared that if poachers got the tracking information, the elephant population would be at a great risk.

Toothless elephant gets set of dentures
Bangkok Post, 07 January 2004

A toothless old elephant who was slowly starving to death has been fitted with a set of specially made dentures in what could be a world first.

The U-shaped denture, 15cm wide and 15cm long, is made of stainless steel, silicone and plastic. It was developed especially for Morakot, an 80-year-old cow elephant at the Chang Phuan Kaeo elephant ground in Kanchanaburi province.

Vetinarian Somsak Jitniyom said that without teeth Morakot could not chew her food. She was dependent on injected saline solution, vitamins and antibiotics. The ailing elephant had collapsed four times and finally been fitted with a special support, chains covered with soft hosepipe suspended from a tree.

On Monday, Morakot was sedated and fitted with her new teeth, Mr Somsak said. Her dung would be watched to see if she was now able to actually chew her food. Mr Somsak said Morakot's dentures could be a first in Thailand or even in the world.

Forest patrol programme to continue
Bangkok Post, 18 December 2003

A scheme to clear city streets of elephants and return them to the wild is set to continue, despite being labelled a 'failure' by a top environmental official.

Permanent Secretary of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry Plodprasop Suraswadi on Monday said elephants and mahouts could not adjust to their new lives in the forests. He said only 30 of the 100 street elephants returned to the wild were still in the forests.

The department's minister, Praphat Panyachartrak, said it was too soon to call the three-month old scheme a failure."Just because there are some flaws in the plan it doesn't mean we should cancel it,'' he said.

Mahouts get two weeks to leave town
Handlers face arrest, animals to be seized
Bangkok Post, 16 December 2003, Ranjana Wangvipula

Mahouts who take their elephants out begging on city streets have been given two weeks to leave town or face arrest. Plodprasop Suraswadi, permanent secretary for natural resources and environment, said their elephants would be seized and released in the forest. A special team of forestry officials, government mahouts and police was being formed to handle the problem. A hotline would be set up for members of the public to inform authorities of the whereabouts of mahouts and elephants.

Mahouts who defy the order to leave the city would face charges under 10 laws ranging from traffic violations to wildlife smuggling. The elephants would be sent to shelters in Kanchanaburi and Mae Hong Son provinces, he said.

"We believe half of the animals are wild elephants smuggled in from Burma and Cambodia,'' he said. Harsh action was deemed necessary to end the problem, Mr Plodprasop said. As many as 250 elephants were believed to have arrived in the city in recent weeks and were roaming the streets at night. Their handlers begged money from people, selling them food they then fed to the animals.

Mr Plodprasop said the return of elephants to the streets demonstrated the failure of the forest patrol project, under which the elephants and their handlers rounded up on the streets were given jobs of patrolling and protecting the forests. Of the 100 mahouts who joined the programme 80 had since dropped out, he said. The mahouts could not adjust to their new jobs.

"Some of the elephants appeared to fear the spirits, their feet were too soft to walk on the rough paths and they became ill,'' Mr Plodprasop said. "Their owners, who were more familiar with the lights of the city, also feared the forest spirits."

Mr Plodprasop said domesticated elephants could be best employed in the tourism industry, where there was a demand for rides by visitors who wanted to see the forests.

Samak: Just shoot bothersome jumbos
Bangkok Post, 15 December 2003

Bangkok Governor Samak Sundaravej has a solution for the problem of elephants roaming and begging on city streets, shoot the beasts. He said the problem continued to exist because a legal loophole allowed mahouts to bring elephants to the city.

"I would like to ask the prime minister if we could shoot the beasts if they are brought into Bangkok, so the mahouts would not dare to do so again,'' he said. Mr Samak once proposed the government seize and retrain the animals for release into the wild.

Thaksin ban elephants from Bangkok City
Vagrant Elephants Banned from City
Source - Agencies, 13 December 2003

BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who has long vowed to clean up Bangkok's traffic-clogged streets, today targeted one group of suspects behind the mess: vagrant elephants. Elephants brought in from the countryside cause traffic problems and should be banned from the already congested capital city, Thaksin said in his weekly radio address.

Scores of domesticated elephants estimates range from 60 to 250 roam Bangkok streets with their handlers, begging for food or promoting the sale of ivory trinkets. They sometimes get hit by vehicles or fall into drains. Many of the pachyderms, extensively used for logging, were made redundant by a 1989 ban on the industry. Thaksin said financial backers purchase elephants and then rent them out to the tourist-tout handlers.

"It creates lots of problems," Thaksin said. "It's dangerous and it makes a mess of traffic. Bangkok's traffic problems are a squeeze already." He said he had told the Interior Ministry and the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority to "not let elephants into Bangkok."

In recent years the city has launched several short-lived elephant crackdowns. In January, officials announced they would strictly enforce 11 bylaws barring elephants from city limits, and increased the penalty for those bringing the animals into the city to four years in jail and a 100,000 baht fine up from a 500 baht fine and no jail term.

Study into possibility of creating another forest complex ordered
Concern grows over elephant food raids
Bangkok Post, 09 December 2003, Ranjana Wangvipula

A new study is looking into the possibility of creating a forest complex out of the road-divided forests connecting the five eastern provinces, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Praphat Panyachartrak said. The study, by the National Park, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation Department, was triggered by concerns over reports that hungry wild elephants had been raiding village plantations for food and water. Mr Praphat blamed forest divisions for the animals' food shortage. The elephants were forced to forage in farms because roads blocked them from going to adjacent forests to find food.

Elephants in Khao Ang Rue Nai were also now inbred because they were confined to limited areas. The wildlife refuge had once been a single forest covering 1,078 sq km in the five eastern provinces, but now was divided into segments by roads, Mr Praphat said.

The new study would concentrate on possible solutions in Khao Ang Rue Nai and in Khao Yai-Thap Lan-Pang Sida wildlife refuges in the lower part of the Northeast, which face similar problems. Many alternatives for linking the forests have been raised, including the construction of flyovers for cars so that the beasts could easily pass below the roads, or opening special pathways for the animals to move from one forest to another.

Mr Praphat had previously assigned officials to a similar study at KhaoYai, but it failed to get off the ground because of the high cost involved, as much as one billion baht. He said roads should have never been built near protected forests. But if they were necessary, the builders should have to prepare environmental impact assessment reports, which offer ways to minimise possible adverse impacts. "In the past, we've never taken the welfare of wild animals into account when cutting forest roads,'' Mr Praphat said.

Hungry Elephants Raiding Plantations
Jumbos force trucks to hand over sugarcane
Bangkok Post, 07 December 2003, Manit Sanabboon and Ploenpote Atthakor

ANG LUE NAI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY: Dry-season food and water shortages have sent elephants in Ang Lue Nai wildlife sanctuary out in the open. They have ransacked villagers' plantations around forest areas. Some even force sugarcane trucks to a halt to get at their goods.

Yoo Senatham, chief of the sanctuary, said villagers have complained about the raids which took place in plantations, most of which were around the forest area between Paed Riew in Chachoengsao and Sa Kaew provinces. The sanctuary is one of the country's largest habitats for elephants, with 130 living there. It covers more than 600,000 rai of forest complex connecting five eastern provinces: Sa Kaew, Chachoengsao, Rayong, Chanthaburi and Chon Buri.

Mr Yoo said elephants have learned to pick up sugarcane dropped by kind-hearted drivers. "But this caused the elephants to develop new habits, just waiting for food to be dropped, rather than looking for food. This is dangerous. We have had cases where drivers lost control of their vehicles and hit the animals,'' he said, adding authorities then banned drivers from dropping food in the hope the elephants would stop begging.

However, the shortage of natural food has led to bizarre incidents in which elephants blocked roads and stopped truck drivers carrying sugarcane from passing until they handed over the food. The leader of the horde would stand in the way to block the vehicle while others would take the produce with their trunks. Mr Yoo said villagers would build an electric fence to protect their crops and open an information centre to mobilise villagers to disperse the animals in a short time.

Water sources should be developed in the heart of the forest so the animals would no longer need to come out, he said. Degraded water sources would be dredged and dikes built. Harnarong Yaowalert of Wildlife Fund Thailand (WFT) disagreed with the water plan, saying it would never work.

The sight of elephants outside the forest suggested the animals' habitat had been disturbed. "To have man-made water sources in the forest is a danger to elephants as they can't adapt and young animals might fall in and die there,'' he said. He cited the case of the Kui Buri forest reserve in which dikes were built to hold water for elephants.

"There were reports that a young elephant suffered a fatal fall. The mother dared not help because the dike was not a natural water source that they were familiar with. The authorities should learn from that incident and not repeat the mistake,'' he said.

Dredging old swamps with heavy equipment was a bad idea as well, since it might frighten the animals into other places, he said.

Elephant tramples, gores owner to death
Bangkok Post, 03 November 2003, Narathiwat

A bull elephant that was previously put to work in the tourism industry trampled and gored its owner to death yesterday in Sukhirin district. Witnesses told police the beast grabbed Ubon Hongnil with its trunk, throwing him into a ditch before killing him. Livestock officials would launch a search today for the pachyderm. The elephant was previously employed to take tourists on sightseeing trips around Ranong province.

Sanctuary offers tourist treks to lure elephants off city streets
Bangkok Post, 24 September 2003, Surachai Piraksa

Dong Yai wildlife sanctuary in Buri Ram has started an elephant riding project in a bid to take the animals off Bangkok streets and back into the forest.

The project appeared successful as four elephants which previously roamed city streets had already returned to the forest. Rides could now be offered to tourists wanting to tour Don Yai wildlife sanctuary in Non Din Daeng district.

The sanctuary, of more than 200,000 rai, is rich in fauna and flora, boasting rare animals such as Bos gaurs, banteng, species of wild cattle and wild birds. Sanctuary chief Sutthichart Ra-biap said elephant owners in Satuk district had brought four animals to join the project. Many elephants were being forced to roam city streets, helping their handlers beg for food and money.

Mr Sutthichart said his agency also trained elephants to help patrol forests. This was being done in Lampang where 99 elephants, which used to be on city streets, were distributed among 37 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Their mahouts had been hired at 15,000 baht a month to assist in patrols and take tourists on treks.

From Pachyderm Dung to Ornamental Paper
School children find a way to keep historical city clean by turning elephant droppings into objects of value
Bangkok Post, 23 September 2003, SUNTHORN PONGPAO

More than 100 elephants live in this ancient capital. Their droppings despoil an environment steeped in history. Now students of Ayutthaya Withayalai School have found a way to keep the town clean, by turning elephant dung into objects of value. The students make paper from the elephant dung and turn the paper into a variety of products popular with tourists, such as artificial flowers, gift boxes and photo frames.

Thippa Phadungwong and Marina Phanthuphak, teachers from the science department, said 250 students had experimented successfully to turn elephant dung into paper. They mixed the droppings with micro-organisms and molasses in a large vat for three days before adding water. The mixture is then boiled and chlorine added. After the chlorine is washed out, the remaining raw fibrous material is mixed with colours, put in wooden frames and dried in the sun to become paper.

With financial support from the provincial administration organisation, students have transferred their knowledge to the tambon administration organisation of Suan Prik and other schools. Tambon Suan Prik is the home of the elephant kraal. Sompas Meephan, owner of the Ayutthaya Elephant Palace and Royal Kraal, said more than 100 elephants under his care roamed the town and left their droppings everywhere.

The pachyderms dropped a large quantity of dung every day, causing an eyesore and making it difficult for municipal workers to clean the town. Use of elephant dung to make paper was a good solution, he said. Mr Sompas said the products are popular with foreign tourists. Dung from elephants that eat banana leaves yields paper with a fine texture, good for making artificial flowers. Paper from the dung of elephants that eat pineapple stems is coarse, good for picture frames and gift boxes.

Virat Kongrit, a member of Suan Prik tambon administration organisation, said local people at first opposed the elephant kraal near their community. Now, they have a better understanding of the animals and the kraal. Some have trained to become mahouts. In the latest development, a cooperative of elephant keepers has been set up to cater to tourists. Its members are villagers in the community. Members will get 4,000 baht a month for looking after elephants here. The elephants will take tourists on sightseeing trips. Earnings will go to the cooperative and its members.

Taming the Beast
Spend time with mahouts and learn what it takes to ride elephants, talk with them and make them do things for you
Story and pictures by Peerawat Jariyasombat

The first time I saw the restraining tool, a foot-long wooden rod supporting a curved metal hook with blunted tip at one end, I was curious how this innocuous-looking implement could be wielded to tame a beast the size of an elephant. Against the largest and heaviest mammal on land, the tool was like a toothpick. There was no way the restraining implement could possibly make an impression on the elephant, let alone hurt it, I told myself, although at the back of my mind I knew that the animal which can weigh up to three tons and more was quite capable of killing humans with a minimum of effort. I had no idea why the elephant obeys and loves the mahout, its handler, but after spending some time at the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre in the northern province of Lampang I had found the answer.

"Say Hub Sung and kick the leg. Grab the ears with both hands," Pi Berm, the mahout instructed me and asked me to step on Singkhon's knee. The elephant bent and I climbed on her back throwing my legs around her neck next to the ears. From this vantage point I could feel her muscles tense as I tried to haul myself into position. "Tack Long" were my next instructions from Pi Berm. I ordered my ride, thrusting both legs over Singkhon's eyes. She bent low on her knees, her head down, so I could jump to the ground. Pi Berm was my instructor for the amateur mahout course devised for tourists to teach them the basics of controlling and commanding elephants in order to encourage them to go on solo rides, an essential aspect of a three-day homestay package which also allows visitors to sample the local culture and the liftestyle of elephant handlers. Mahout in charge of elephants on logging duty need to know some 40 or so commands, but under the amateur course devised for tourists they need to learn just ten, the basics required to safely command and steer the elephants through mountains, forests and streams for a truly entertaining ride.

I threw the hook to the ground and tapped Singkhon calling "Kep Bon". She scooped it up with her trunk and handed it to me. Yes, it was the hook that controlled her. Actually, the hook in the hand of a stranger like me didn't quite make an impression because god knows to Singkhon, with her three-ton frame standing eight feel tall, I must have been another pest not worthy of a serious thought. I tried out some other commands to which she responded, but not with the same urgency she showed to her master. "She has been pregnant for a year." Pi Berm said, explaining that the gestation period for elephants is about two years. Mature elephants are less active than younger ones. Thida is 10 years old and plays like a kid her age. She loves to dance, swing her head and legs. Whenever she sees her close friend, Look Khang, another female elephant of the same age, their heads meet in a hug and they make sounds as if they are talking to each other, he said.

Roughly speaking, an adult elephant devours 250 kilogrammes of vegetable a day. That is why every evening mahouts ride them out into the forest so they can eat to their heart's content. On the way to the forest there is a piece of blue canvas hanging from a tree, and while other elephants are not too impressed by its presence, it scares Thida a lot. Every time she sees it she stops and points to the tent with her trunk. From there the mahout has to lead her by holding her ear. Once past that point she goes into a gallop. Thida enjoyed feeding on green grass in the field that night. The next morning she covered herself in clay to prevent her skin from bugs. "She loves to go to school early, probably she enjoys meeting friends and playing with them. If you are late to pick her up, she gets upset," Jon, Thida's mahout told me.

I accompanied Pi Berm to pick up Singkhon and surprised her by offering sugarcane. This unexpected gesture perhaps brought us to understand each other better because I got a perfect ride to the school. The ride was thoroughly enjoyable. I got a chance to test my newly acquired skills. With support from Pi Berm, I steered Singkhon to walk narrow trails, cross streams, climb small hills, and lead her to a large pool where she was given a bath before the start of the elephant show, held twice daily when the pachyderms give a demonstration of their log hauling, painting, music and dancing skills. The rich teak forests of northern Thailand began attracting logging merchants into the area about a century ago and trained elephants played key role in the growth and prosperity of the industry.As you watch elephants play and wrestle with their trunks in front of you, don't be surprised by the unexpected tap on your shoulder. It's one of them greeting you and asking, perhaps, for some favour like buying softdrinks or something else it has become used to.

Someone brought the news that a baby elephant was born that morning in the forest not far from the centre. The news spread like wild fire. Like everybody else, I skipped the show and rushed to see the new member. It was good news because the number of elephants in the region is fast declining and new-borns are hard to come by. We approached the mother and the calf carefully. The mother elephant didn't want anybody to get close to the baby, even its mahout. I watched it all from a distance. The baby was cute, a healthy male just a few feet from the ground, prancing up and down with its trunk probing his mother for milk. It was quite an effort for the newly-born jumbo because, as I saw it, his trunk was all over the place except where it's supposed to be, so when the probing trunk finally found the nipples it drew a large cheer from the crowd. "It is the first instinct" the veterinarian proclaimed proudly.

Wongduan, the mother elephant was from nearby Mae Wang camp. Her mahout had kept her in the forest because he was expecting her to deliver a baby but he didn't have the faintest idea that it would come so soon. We returned to the centre to continue our lessons in elephant riding. It went well and Singkhon obeyed my instructions most of the time. The only time she didn't comply was when I ordered her to sit down. Either she would respond too slowly, or completely ignore it. It was time to apply the hook. Pi Berm tapped Singkhon's ear with the hook. I heard her let out a painful sound. Pi Berm may be angry, but hurting Singkhon doesn't make him feel better. Hurting her is the last thing on his mind, but sometimes he has to do it, and when he does it he feels it too. I was told that mahouts know the vital or pressure points of their elephants. Just a soft tap on the right spot with the hook will stop a raging bull elephant in its tracks. It may sound a bit cruel, especially if done to a domesticated female elephant, but again it's a difficult choice. Anyway, the small punishment had the right effect on Singkhon as she started responding to my commands more eagerly. A slight press of the hook on her back spurred her to action.

That evening, on the way to the forest, I tried to comfort her by offering some fruits. then I touched Singkhon's head and called out her name. She raised her trunk for me to pat. We were on a familiar wavelength. Sometimes, Singkhon made low tones, the noise coming from her trunk and Pi Berm told me that she was in communication with a distant friend. Many elephants spend the night in the area and therefore have plenty in common. Torrential rain that night turned the forest into muddled pools and my mahout warned me that Singkhon would not like the conditions. When we woke up the next morning I found Singkhon clearly upset. The giant beast, her body covered in grime, was making strange noises and beating her trunk against the ground. I offered her banana, then held her by the ear in order to console her but without success. Pi Berm then ordered her to clean herself. She slipped into the pond but got stuck in the middle as her chain got entangled in a rock beneath. Pi Berm had to go in and untangle it, after which he left me to ride Singkhon back to school for the show.

When I first saw the show I couldn't believe elephants could do so many things, but now I know they are just a small part of the training they are given to perform other more critical tasks. They are clever, indeed. Riding is not the most important part of the package but establishing a rapport with the elephant is because then you get to understand the beast in a kinder light. At the show Singkhon helped me to perform well and the school issued me a certificate and a miniature hook as souvenir. After the show it's time to feed elephants. As I looked around for fruits I took a second look at the miniature hook. Now I knew it's not a weapon to be wielded in anger but a means to communicate with the elephant.

Travel tips:

Homestay programme for amateur mahout course lasts three days/two nights. The 4,000 baht package includes accommodation at the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre, meals, mahout outfit, and elephant riding course.
Courses range from one day to a month. For more information and reservation call 054-228034. Take some exercise before joining the course.

The Thai Elephant Conservation Centre is in Hang Chat District, around 30 kilometres from Lampang.

Lampang is 602 kilometres from Bangkok by road. Use Highway 1 and drive through Singburi, Chainat, Nakhon Sawan, and Tak to get there. It takes about seven hours. Buses leave Northern Bus Terminal daily. Call 02-936-3666 for more information. Trains leave daily; call 02-223-0341 for reservation.

Thai Airways International flies to Lampang twice daily. Call 02-628-2000 for more information.