February 2010

A jumbo tale

Big friendly giants deliver a powerful lesson in elephant rehabilitation at the Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Sanctuary

WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY CLARE ALLEN

With my hand soaked in elephant saliva, I watch as others anxiously overcome a new fear: reaching past a couple of sturdy tusks to offer an afternoon snack to a big, friendly Asian elephant. All around, elephants chomp nonchalantly as each piece of fruit lands on their pink tongues, safe in the knowledge the next visitor will repeat the exercise soon enough.

As wide-eyed children and equally awe-struck adults keep going back for more fruit, handlers at the Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Sanctuary in the Pahang region north of Kuala Lumpur suppress smiles as the visitors jump back in surprise when the food is swiftly swept from fingers or sucked up by a swinging trunk. Situated in the Krau Game reserve, a couple of hours’ drive from Kuala Lumpur, the conservation centre was started by Malaysia’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks 20 years ago, but it is the Elephant Capture and Translocation Unit who operate it and are the face of the project today.

It is home to rescued Asian elephants that, despite being magnificent, efficient and powerful, are at risk and need sanctuary and protection. In the wild, these animals face translocation dangers, territory conflicts and exploitation. The sanctuary delivers a straightforward message which would otherwise be missed if your trip to Kuala Lumpur only consisted of shopping and a visit to the Petronas Twin Towers. Experts believe that there are fewer than 40,000 wild elephants left in Asia — this is a species whose future is in jeopardy.

The harsh reality of their plight is graphically detailed in a 30-minute video which shows how the residents of the sanctuary were rescued from the human threat of the wild and relocated to a safe environment. It shows the lengths rescuers go to in an effort to save these animals, using teams of men to transport them in trying conditions, facing injury as angry elephants put up a fight when they are removed from their natural homes. It’s an emotional and sobering reminder.

While the centre’s tireless routine of educating open-mouthed tourists goes a long way towards building a better understanding of wild elephant relocation, the most effective lesson has been to allow naive visitors to come face-to-face with the towering, and surprisingly hairy, gentle giants. Busloads of visitors arrive to join these accommodating hosts at dinner time, bath time and for a short afternoon stroll. Before activities begin, the animals are in a fenced but spacious reserve where they are so at ease with the sanctuary surroundings and doting handlers.

Feeding time kicks into action as troughs of food are brought out and the elephants line up patiently for their snacks. While the overhead speakers tell each elephant’s story — including a tear-jerker about the youngest in the family losing its tail after a tiger attack — most are pre-occupied with the feeding ritual. There is a contagious energy and fury about it all as people experience a feeding for the first time.

The jumbo tour then moves on to the elephant ride, where you get up close to the elephants, feeling their hairy but smooth skin underneath you as they wiggle their way around a well-trodden track. It’s a big stretch to load yourself on top and you want to be well acquainted with your fellow passengers as you cling on tight to the one in front. All the while, the silent trainers “speak elephant” and have them respond to all their instructions, never once giving visitors cause for concern as they walk among people at the centre.

A slow trot then takes the dirtiest elephants and saliva-covered tourists into a nearby river for bath time. The water isn’t the clearest, but they wade in and roll the trainers off. The braver ones take the plunge while others can splash around with the elephants in the safety of shallower water.

There are moments when you fear losing a couple of toes under a mammoth foot in the cloudy water, but being so close to a playful junior spraying water with its trunk is a one-off experience.

German tourist Katharina Ulbrich says, “Bathing the elephants was definitely the best part of the tour. The trip made me think more about the conservation of elephants.”

The centre does not pressure anyone to donate or sign up to any funding programs, but many will feel compelled to contribute in some way. These elephants are vulnerable and even a non-animal lover like me can be won over by their stories, their survival and their saliva.

Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Sanctuary, Temerloh, Pahang, tel: + 60 (9) 279 0391

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