Elephant Training Center Sumatra Indonesia.
This is the first elephant I encountered at Elephant Training Center Way Kambas, Sumatra. The families gleefully handing Indonesian Rupiah to the elephants trunk as the elephant handed the bills back to it's Mahout.My impressions of the place online was that this was a rehab center for elephants, but when I arrived it was mostly elephants begging like this. or being offered for rides around the open space.It is funded by the government, and despite what I have to say about it, it is support for elephants, they are not kept standing on cement for all hours, or in cities, they get a regular diet of elephant appropriate food. The line of cars stretched for miles on New Years day, proving to me its a huge draw and people love having contact with these animals, there is no denying how amazing and awesome it is to be this close to an elephant, to interact with one.
But.
It could be so much better.I realize I have the goggles of privledge in place, I realize I went back to the lodge and cried about the state of elephants in Indonesia after this visit. It is up to tourism and subsequent money and reviews of places like this that will both evoke changes for elephants and the community of Mahouts with them.These are not bad people, these are people trying to make a living, support thier families and uphold years of traditions.I have no interest in vilianizing Mahouts, but I do think The Elephant Training Center could be better for all involved.
.In front of me is my Driver/Guide from Satwa Elephant Ecolodge, Ratno. His brother has elephants here. My bahasa is terrible, his english is better than my bahasa so our conversations lacked a complexity. This was shortly after I told him I would not ride an elephant, and he was quite confused as to why I wouldn't, but eventually accepted it and offered me to show me some elephants.Walking down this road, this bull elephant galvanized my understanding of elephants in the shortest smallest interaction. I tried to capture the moment- but as with most powerful moments- I was in the moment, not thinking "take a picture" Anyhow.... This bull with one tusk is heading down the road we are walking on as I make my way past him we exchange a glance at one another...
As I pass him, he stops and turns to look at me, I as I turn back to look at him, his Mahout urges him forward.Nothing could have prepared me for the intelligence and presence of that exchange.I wish there was some way to have captured that exchange. These were photos briefly before and after.
We walk into a field nearby where some elephants are waiting to be fed.Ratno takes me to see this baby elephant, I don't realize til after the fact that its roughly feeding time for him. In the following pictures you see him mimicing putting food in his mouth and swinging his trunk at me... Our interaction went like this. I come over to greet him and pet him, he checks my hands for food with his trunk, I apologize, no- I don't have any food, he then rips at the grass at his feet and mimics eating it and then pokes my hands again. I apologize again and he wraps his trunk around my arm and yanks me hard. I deserved it. He was very strong too.
You can seee here how his feet are hobbled, this is to prevent the elephants from running away.I hated seeing them hobbled.
The trunk swinging annoyed with me and my lack of treats.
Him mimicing eating the grass to show me what he wants.... a food truck arrives shortly after that and everyone is given something to eat, here we see the elephants eating dinner.The Mahout spreading food out for them.
(Below)Ratno says this tiny baby is his brothers, found in the forest with a "hurt foot that was cured with ointment from the store" was the most information I got.
Final thoughts about Elephant training center: I think they could expand thier program to include fees for people to spend time with the elephants in different ways, other than riding and begging and it would be well recieved by the locals and tourists. I think expanding to include non riding and work activities could make the program more lucritive, and better for the elephants and mahouts in general. Adding a standardized program for Mahout training would help as well. Had I known in advance what this center was going to be like, I probably would not have gone- as it was counter to how i wanted to participate with the animals of Sumatra.I asked locals and other tourists about thier experience here, and most people really enjoyed it. Only one Japanese man mentioned as an aside " It is kind of sad how they keep them, though." I would encourage people to go here, and pay to not ride the elephant. Pay a Mahout for the pleasure of being around the elephant. It might help change things. They could easily offer a feeding program where you feed elephants and interact like that instead of riding them.There are several successful models in Thailand they could work from.In fact, my next post will be about The Elephant Nature Park of Chiang Mai.