THAILAND'S ELEPHANT CHAMPION

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Battle continues for Thailand's elephant champion

 

 

Conservationist invites Taiwan's wildlife advocates to Chiang Mai nature

park, searches for Taipei's pachyderm 'ambassadors'

 

2005-11-27 / Taiwan News, Staff Reporter / By Marie Feliciano

A \ " crying\ " elephant changed Sangduen \ " Lek\ " Chailert\'s life.

 

\ " I saw this elephant chained to a tree, and tears were rolling down her

cheeks. She was dying right in front of me,\ " Chailert tells the Taiwan

News. \ " She was trembling and foam was coming out of her mouth. I learned

later that the pachyderm was forced to take drugs. The amphetamines kept her

going. She was employed by a logging company, and she had to carry logs up

and down the mountains.\ "

 

The memory of that \ " crying\ " elephant stayed with her.

 

\ " That night, I couldn\'t sleep. I thought, \'I have to do something,\'\ "

she says. \ " No one is helping those elephants, and I cannot just let them

die. I will do what needs to be done, and I will do it all by myself if

needed.\ "

 

And so, Chailert decided to devote her life to rescuing and healing

Thailand\'s elephants - many of them left \ " unemployed\ " by logging

companies and abandoned by owners who did not have the financial means to

care for them.

 

\ " When I told my family of my decision, they discouraged me, and in some

cases, even teased me for coming up with such an idea,\ " she says. \ " They

said, \'You\'re so small. (\ " Lek\ " means \ " small one\ " in Thai.) How can you

take care of an animal that is several times larger than you? You will be

needing a lot of people and tons of money and resources to do that.\' I told

them, \'I believe I can do it, and I will follow my heart.\'\ "

 

Chailert can be as stubborn as a mule if she wants to, and it is that

stubbornness that got her on TIME\'s \ " Asia\'s Heroes\ " roster this year.

The prestigious award, presented to Chailert in Taipei last Wednesday, has

helped open several doors for Thailand\'s endangered elephants, she says.

 

\ " When I started the Elephant Nature Park (in Chiang Mai in 1996), I felt so

alone. I had my back against the wall,\ " Chailert says. \ " Not many Thai

people were interested in our elephants\' plight, not even members of the

Thai media. TIME helped change that.\ "

 

Born in the small rural mountain village of Baan Lao, some 60 kilometers

from Chiang Mai, Chailert earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Chiang Mai

University.

 

When she was five years old, her grandfather had an elephant named Thongkhum

or \ " golden one\ " who helped him till the farm.

 

\ " Thongkhum was like a family member. I love elephants because they are very

kind and gentle creatures. It\'s really difficult not to love them,\ " she

says. \ " Elephants occupy a very special place in Thai society. They are the

symbols of our country. Despite that, many elephants are abused and forced

to live in terrible conditions.\ "

 

With the help of her fellow elephant crusaders, Chailert set up the Elephant

Nature Park in Chiang Mai nearly a decade ago. The elephant preserve

currently houses 31 pachyderms, she says, adding that four of those

elephants were transferred to the nature park only last Tuesday.

 

\ " You know, in my country\'s history, elephants are revered,\ " says the

conservationist. \ " The younger generation however does not share that

sentiment. The laws of Thailand are also not strong enough to protect those

animals, especially old elephants.\ "

 

The situation has deteriorated so quickly that there are only 1,600

elephants left in Thailand.

 

\ " A century ago, Thailand had 100,000 Asian elephants,\ " she says. \ " In

1989, we had 15,000 elephants in northern Thailand. Today, we only have

1,600 left. I\'m afraid we are losing more of them each day.\ "

 

To save those creatures, she is pushing for conservation and education

programs in her country.

 

Chailert has been researching elephants in the wild for more than a decade.

 

\ " I have slept, eaten and stayed with them in the lush jungles of my home in

the mountains. I have used this time to follow their herds and record their

behavior in their natural habitat,\ " she says in her Web site.

 

\ " I find their social order totally amazing - how they cared for each other,

their close relationships, and their complex ranking structure. I love

watching mother elephants show their affection and deep love to their

playful babies. I have seen elephants giving birth in the jungle, and have

acted as an elephant\'s midwife two times.\ "

 

According to the Elephant Nature Park Web site (www.elephantnaturepark.org),

Chailert gives four to five talks on elephant conservation every month. She

enjoys speaking with school children because the latter simply love animals,

she says. She is also involved in Jumbo Express, a field clinic that goes

out to elephants in the forest to administer health care, and Elephant

Haven, a preserve that takes in old and sick elephants.

 

Jumbo Express, she adds, plays a critical role in Thailand\'s elephant

conservation efforts.

 

\ " Sometimes the paths are hazardous and involve over four hours of trekking.

Without Jumbo Express\' assistance, many of these elephants would die,\ "

says Chailert.

 

The future of Thailand\'s Asian elephants remains bleak, she adds.

 

\ " (Their prospects) are not very good I\'m afraid,\ " she says. \ " (There\'s)

less land available and (there are) elephants begging in the cities. They

are facing a tough time ... If we don\'t do something now, the elephants

won\'t be with us much longer.\ "

 

To Chailert, all elephants are unique. In fact, even the nature park\'s Web

site features a profile on each of its majestic residents.

 

For instance, Lilly, described as \ " a beautiful female elephant,\ " was given

such a name because \ " she has a beautiful face, ears, and trunk.\ "

 

\ " Lek and her team found Lilly during a Jumbo Express trip. When they saw

Lilly, she was alone and tied to a tree. Lilly was dying. Her face and her

body were swollen, and wounds covered her whole body. Lek (sought the

owners\' permission), and asked them to let her and her vet team take care

of Lilly,\ " Elephant Nature Park says.

 

\ " The owner decided to put Lilly\'s life in Lek\'s hands. Lek and her team

moved Lilly away and put her in a better environment that was quiet and

peaceful, and located near a river. Each step that Lilly took seemed to take

forever. Lifting her legs seemed to be so (difficult) for her that Lek and

her volunteers started walking next to her, trying to cheer her up and

making her feel more confident (that she could reach) the river. Everyone

was so thankful that Lilly had the will to live.\ "

 

Chailert fed Lilly tamarind and vegetable oil to flush out the poison from

her system. It took three months before the grizzled elephant recovered.

 

The owners wanted Lilly back, but Chailert had other ideas.

 

\ " And so Lek went home to get all her savings and bought Lilly\'s freedom,\ "

the nature park says.

 

Jokia, a female elephant born in a Karen village along the Burmese border,

was also rescued by Chailert.

 

\ " During her younger days, (Jokia was used by) the Karen family in the

logging trade to make money. At the time, she was treated like a member of

the family. In 1989, the government announced a ban on logging. Jokia, and

all the other elephants, suddenly found themselves \'unemployed,\'\ " the

Elephant Nature Park says.

 

Jokia\'s owners were forced to sell her. The elephant found herself working

for different masters. Jokia ended up blind.

 

\ " Lek met Jokia during a Jumbo Express\' visit. Tears fell from Jokia\'s

eyes as she walked towards her. Lek left that day with a great pain in her

heart, and she couldn\'t stop thinking about Jokia. She returned several

times offering to buy her, but the price was always (way too high). Lek

could not afford to buy her but was still determined to free her. Lek prayed

and prayed for an angel to come and save Jokia, and a few months later, her

prayers were answered,\ " the Elephant Nature Park says.

 

The angel\'s name was Amanda de Normanville, it continues.

 

\ " Amanda and her friends in America bought Jokia a new life. The journey

from the logging site to the Elephant Nature Park would normally have taken

about four hours in the truck, but this time it took over eight hours. They

had to stop the truck every 10 to 15 minutes to try and calm poor Jokia

down,\ " the Elephant Nature Park says.

 

\ " She was so distressed by the uncomfortable journey, compounded by her

blindness, that she nearly destroyed the truck, kicking hard and butting her

head against the sides. We had to walk with her the last three kilometers to

the park.\ "

 

At Elephant Nature Park, Jokia was delighted when she found a big river

where she could bathe in everyday. The first time she went in for a swim,

she seemed to know that something good had happened, says the nature park.

 

\ " To this day Jokia lives a free life in the Elephant Nature Park. She has a

mahout (an elephant handler) who watches over her. She loves (her home where

she is) free from chains, hooks and arduous menial work,\ " the park says.

 

The Elephant Nature Park relies on the generosity of people to survive.

 

\ " Just check out our Web site for details. I will really be happy if our

Taiwanese friends will work as volunteers in our park, and help us look

after our elephants,\ " Chailert says.

 

\ " We are going to look for our \'elephant ambassador\' in Taiwan. We need

someone from Taiwan who will go to the nature park, and come back and speak

on behalf of those intelligent creatures.\ "

 

A two-day \ " Elephant Helper\ " package costs US$159 for adults and US$110 for

kids aged 12 years old and below. This hands-on conservation experience

includes swimming with the park\'s resident elephants, talks with

\ " mahouts\ " or elephant handlers, and elephant trail-watching activities to

name a few.

 

Chailert also calls on consumers to boycott the illegal wildlife trade.

 

\ " Demand causes death to these innocent creatures. Check the merchandise of

your local stores. If ivory or other elephant body products are for sale,

contact the store management and let them know that you oppose the sale of

these items and, until removed, will not use this store again,\ " the

Elephant Nature Park says.

 

Another tip: Call your local zoo and ask if they are involved in any

overseas elephant conservation projects or have \ " elephant days.\ "

 

\ " Can you imagine a world without elephants? Or a Thailand with its symbol

all dead?\ " Chailert says. \ " Without our elephants, we are an empty

country.\ "

 

You may email Sangduen \ " Lek\ " Chailert at elehome2001, or ring

her at (+66-0-53) 272-855 or 818-744. Check out the Elephant Nature Park\'s

Web site by logging on to www.elephantnaturepark.org