Elephant Aid International

Category: Elephants in Asia

  • tribesmen and internet signals

    I woke at six–just as the morning light was creeping over the granite hilltop—feeling refreshed and happy as a clam! I went to sleep under a bed of stars and woke to birds singing and a fabulous sunrise — simply heaven. I feel like myself again — I just needed to get out of the city!

    Derrick greeted me with a downward down stretch followed by his mellow tail wag. We hiked up the hill to see if I could get cell reception, but no luck. Actually, what I really wanted to do was some exploring. Derrick had the same idea and led the way. The granite rock formations on these hilltops are inspiring.

    Back at the house, Derrick went into a barking frenzy. I heard rustling in the nearby underbrush and expected to see a deer or two. Instead, I caught a glimpse of three wild pigs– two adults and a piglet — scampering in the opposite direction. I was excited — my first wildlife sighting!

    Mahadeva, a local tribesman, is helping me get comfortable with the area. We spent all morning hiking the property. It really is spectacular. One feature that the elephants will appreciate is the diversity of the land, from pastures to rocky hillsides, forest and, of course, a beautiful lake. I saw that one of the creeks feeds fresh water into the lake. Partially spring fed — just another plus.

    This land is elephant country. At one time all the land around here belonged to wild elephants. I have been thinking hard about this reality.

    Late this afternoon I decide to set out on another hike, this time to see if I could find a cell phone signal. I was gifted a pin drive which, if in range, will give me wireless internet service for my computer. I was determined to locate a signal.

    Vishnu says he gets reception in front of his house but I did not, so I hiked further. I finally did get a signal and wouldn’t you guess it was smack dab in the middle of elephant country on the shore of the lake. I had to laugh out loud. What a fabulous place to set up my mobile office. I plopped myself down on a granite bench and was able to send and receive emails while watching a variety of birds fishing on the lake.

    This care center is going to be more than I even envisioned. It is heaven and the elephants will love it. I am so happy to be back, to make dream real.

  • India Calls

    It is time for me to return to Asia. My Elephant Care and Rehabilitation Center is calling.

    Learning from my past, I have decided to stop for a least one second to stand in the glow of this monumental moment. This time around I plan to rejoice in each tiny success, revel in each new development and give thanks for the progress made each and every day. I look forward to the challenge of staying in the moment as much as I can, recognizing that each unique moment will slip by without acknowledgement if I don’t make the effort to cherish it.

    So many people are with me on this journey. I feel you shoulder-to-shoulder traveling with me and, of course, those at my back, pushing me forward. This is truly a time of celebration. Thanks for joining me on this fabulous journey.

    I recently sent the following appeal to EAI’s loyal supporters. The response has been overwhelming.

    Our Elephant Care and Rehabilitation Center project in Bangalore, India, finally received the government endorsement we have been waiting for. I cannot tell you how excited I am that we are finally able to move forward on this project to provide a humane home for elephants in India. I know you share my enthusiasm.

    The property for the center has been secured. It is fantastic — complete with two large ponds, woods and pasture area — and it borders a national forest that we have received government permission to use.

    Can you believe it? Our elephants will be allowed to use the national forest as if it were their home! This really is a dream come true!

    In the surprisingly short time since I founded EAI, it has already had a notable impact on the welfare of captive elephants living in Thailand, Nepal and India. Hundreds of elephants have received pedicures and mahouts have been introduced to a kinder, gentler way to manage their elephants.

    And now we are preparing to create a care and rehabilitation center – the first of its kind – that promises to change how captive elephants live in Asia.

    Helping one elephant at a time takes the efforts of many. I need your help now.

    Before we can rescue even one elephant we must complete the infrastructure including perimeter fencing, construct chain-free corrals and build night shelters to provide protection from wild elephants and poachers. A sanitary water collection and containment system must be installed to ensure a continuous supply of clean water. And we need a small vet clinic to support each elephant’s recovery following his/her rescue.

    Elephants like 12-year-old Menaka, who will be our first resident. Chained in a temple for most of her life, Menaka has experienced horrors we cannot even imagine. She spent day and night standing on concrete, forced to stand at attention in the hot sun for hours and bless temple worshipers. Whenever Menaka attempted to move, she was punished harshly with bullhooks. At night she was left alone and hungry, with heavy chains tied around her legs; her attempts to free herself caused painful wounds that went untreated.

    Fortunately, once Menaka arrives at the center, her life will be forever changed and her past will become a distant memory.

    I can’t wait to see the gleam in young Menaka’s eyes when she enters her chain-free corral and realizes her new-found freedom.

    The cost of the infrastructure required to provide sanctuary for needy elephants like Menaka is estimated at $200,000.

    I have complete confidence that we can reach this goal. But, I cannot accomplish this alone. I depend on you to help me make this dream a reality.

    Your donation can help Menaka be the first of many elephants rescued to our care center. They will make history, living proof of a better, kinder way of caring for elephants living in captivity.
    Please help us meet our goal. As with all my projects, every dollar you contribute goes directly to helping the elephants.

    I know we have a big job ahead of us. But my experience of creating The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee has taught me that we can accomplish anything we set our mind to. Together we can create this care center, a solution for India’s suffering elephants and a model for the rest of Asia.

    Thank you for your support and for being a part of the solution!

    Carol Buckley

    P.S. Please contact me if you have questions or suggestions.

     

  • Elephant Aid International Creates First-Ever Elephant Care Center in India

    Hohenwald, TN, October 27, 2011 – Elephant Aid International (EAI), a Carol Buckley Project, announces its official partnership with the Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation Centre (WRRC), one of India’s foremost wildlife organizations, to create the first prototype Elephant Care and Rehabilitation Center in Karnataka, Bangalore, India.

    With the endorsement of the Indian government, this private project will serve as a model for future care and rehabilitation centers throughout the country. The center will rehabilitate elephants who have been removed from the confines of zoos, circuses and temples, and offer them a more natural lifestyle, free of chains and negative management techniques.

    Carol Buckley, founder, president and CEO of EAI, will supervise the Center’s development, training of mahouts (elephant handlers) and elephant acquisition and relocation. This first facility will house up to seven elephants.

    “We are honored to partner with WRRC on this landmark project,” said Buckley. “I believe this care center will be a beacon of hope and a challenge for change for people working to improve the lives of captive elephants.

    There is an urgent need for care centers (what are known as sanctuaries in the U.S.) in India. In November 2009, the country’s Central Zoo Authority mandated that all elephants be removed from zoos and placed in alternative facilities better suited to address their needs. India’s wildlife parks and game sanctuaries are not well suited for zoo elephants and, until now, no other alternative existed.

    In August 2010, the Elephant Task Force of India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests issued a set of recommendations, including the creation of state-of-the-art lifetime care centers.

    Designed to provide freedom of movement and a healthy social environment, care and rehabilitation centers will provide a safe place for elephants to escape the abuses of captivity.

    • The centers will support the rehabilitation of elephants suffering from physical and psychological trauma by providing a more naturalistic environment.
    • They will not involve tourism.
    • The grounds will be fenced, eliminating the need to restrain elephants with leg chains.

    All mahouts will be trained in Compassionate Elephant Care techniques, a system developed by Buckley that is based on understanding elephant biology, physiology and psychology; relationship building between the mahouts and their elephants; and positive reinforcement.

    The number of elephants housed at the Center will be limited to ensure there is adequate vegetation for them on-site and in the bordering national forest. The elephants will have access to areas of the forest during daylight hours and will return to the Center at night.

    The Center is based on The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, which Buckley co-founded and led to international recognition as one of the leading models of humane management of elephants in captivity.

  • Anantara built a training wall!

    With the world of elephant welfare seemingly in constant turmoil, it is encouraging to learn when progress is being made. Some elephant programs never seem to move past the philosophy of control, be it under the guise of positive or negative reinforcement. So when an organization makes the effort to transition from dominance to non-dominance, congratulations are in order.

    Earlier this year I visited Anantara, a facility located in Northern Thailand. Anantara differs from many other tourist facilities; most notably, they are a five-star resort and do not buy elephants away from their owners. Instead, Anantara leases elephants, keeping the owner/mahout and elephant pair intact, thereby reducing the likelihood of the owner going and purchasing a new elephant. Removing the pair from the streets has the potential to improve their quality of life but, unfortunately, the move alone does not necessarily change the manner in which the mahout manages his elephant.

    You can imagine my gratification when I discovered a new YouTube video showing a training wall and mahouts engaged in positive reinforcement training at Anantara. As if this is not fabulous enough, I have learned that the Government Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang sent representatives to Anantara to learn about positive reinforcement training. I could not be more excited about this development.

    I knew it would take time for positive reinforcement training to catch on in Asia but never in my wildest dreams did I expect it to happen this quickly. A colleague working with elephants in Thailand stated that it stemmed from what I started there. If this is true, I am externally grateful for being in the right place at the right time with the right intention. The wave of change has begun!

  • UPDATE: Elephant Care Center

    In 2009, India’s Central Zoo Authority mandated that all elephants living in zoos had to be moved to national parks and sanctuaries. Unfortunately, facilities to accommodate the displaced elephants do not yet exist.

    My goal is to create an elephant care center prototype in India that can be easily replicated countrywide, ensuring that all zoo elephants can be relocated to more suitable environments.

    Serious discussion for the development of Elephant Aid International’s first elephant care center (sanctuary) in India, which has been underway for many months, is in the final stages. A fabulous piece of land bordering a National Forest has been selected, complete with forests, pastures and ponds. It is a wonderful location for rescued elephants.

    Last week, at our request, government officials toured the property. They asked questions about management and funding, voiced concerns about co-mingling of wild and captive elephants and requested follow-up information regarding our plans. All concerns were minor and easily addressed.

    Although government endorsement is not a requirement for the creation of the elephant rescue center, enlisting government input will serve to strengthen relationships essential for a successful project. We are confident of an emerging rescue center reality! Stay tuned for future updates. We hope to confirm government endorsement within a few weeks.

  • Ngo-Hok, aka Jon, at Elephant’s World

    Elephant’s World was one of the locations where I was fortunate to introduce positive reinforcement target training. I will return there to continue training, and to consult on facility development and elephant training and care.

    During my last visit, Elephant’s World owner agreed to the idea of constructing a large fenced-in area so the elephants can be kept off chains. Fundraising is underway and hopefully by the time I return to Thailand in the fall, the fence will be in place.

    Ngo-Hok, aka Jon, the young male elephant with whom I worked, has a history of aggression. Personally, I believe he was emotionally scarred by the traditional brutal training he received prior to coming to Elephant’s World. From the first session he responded enthusiastically to positive reinforcement target training. I was at Elephant’s World for only about a week, but during that time Ngo-Hok/Jon excelled at demonstrating to the mahouts that he can learn and will respond favorably, at least to this technique of training.

    Unfortunately, the language barrier was a challenge. The mahouts tried to understand what I was telling them but they simply could not. Even though Ngo-Hok/Jon was brilliant during his target training sessions, the mahouts failed to continue the training after I left.

    The staff needs further training to grasp the concept and develop the technique of this training which is so foreign to them. I look forward to returning to Elephant’s World to continue the training. This time I will recruit a translator, which is the only way to ensure that the mahouts understand the philosophy and learn the technique.

    Following is an interview that an Elephant’s World volunteer did with Piza, Ngo-Hok/Jon’s mahout. The volunteer posed the questions as if I had asked them.

    Q: How is Ngo-Hok/Jon doing?

    A: He is doing better since the last time you saw him. Sometimes he is stubborn, and then I cannot climb on this back. He is more often around the other elephants, during swimming and eating, but I have to stay close to him because he is playful and annoys the older female.

    He is now very close with Rom Sai, the full-grown tusker, like a father and son. He has escaped a couple of times in the last months but he comes back to stay with Rom Sai. When eating together, he likes to take food from the other elephants. Only Rom Sai will allow this. I believe the other elephants will hit him if I am not there.

    Last evening I didn’t take him to the forest because he did not let me get on his back earlier in the day — he was stubborn. In this way I am trying to teach him. Also, after he is stubborn he will try to escape when I take him out of the forest. I am trying to teach him that if he obeys and allows me on his back, he will be rewarded with a trip to the forest.

    Ngo-Hok/Jon is growing; he is now taller than me. In one month he has gained about 10 kgs. He now weighs close to 800 kgs and eats about 80 kgs a day.

     Q: Do you think Ngo-Hok/Jon can stay with the other elephants?

    A: He can stay with other elephants. He can stay close to Rom Sai, who will protect him. For now he can stay with the females as well because they are older women and he is still young. But as he gets older and new female elephants come in, it will be a problem.

    Q: How do you feel around Ngo-Hok/Jon since he tried to hurt you?

    A: I feel better around him now, but have to be careful all the time. After the accident I was a little bit afraid, but not anymore. When I am with him anyone can come close, but if I am not there, people cannot come close. If I have one day off, Jon is put on hobbles because the other mahouts cannot deal with him. Right now Ngo-Hok/Jon only listens to me.

    Q: Is there anything else you’d like to tell Carol?

    A: I think she should come again and see Ngo-Hok/Jon for herself.

  • a shared moment of silence in his honor

    I read a very disturbing story about an elephant who was stabbed to death in Vietnam. The photos are so gruesome I cannot post them. This 38-year-old tusker spent his life in captivity entertaining tourists. He was attacked twice last year and it took months to nurse him back to health. This time, the hairs on his tail cost him his life.

    I usually do not post such deeply disturbing stories but I feel a responsibility to this elephant to not let his suffering be in vain. The degree to which humans can harm another being is something I simply cannot comprehend. This elephant was held in captivity to feed tourism, the key component in the abuse and suffering of captive elephants. As long as tourists participate in elephant safaris, shows, rides, photo ops, feeding and petting, elephants will continue to be abused and killed.

    While I was in Nepal this past March/April providing foot care, Dr. Griry, the head government veterinarian, trimmed the tail hairs from elephants to ensure they would not be attacked. I was horrified by stories about attackers in Nepal hacking off the end of an elephant tail to collect the hairs.

    Last update 24/04/2011 04:51:00 PM (GMT+7)

    Da Lat: Elephant stabbed to death

    VietNamNet Bridge – A 38 year old male elephant, named Beckham, was killed in the Tuyen Lam Lake Tourism Area in the resort city of Da Lat on April 24.

    The elephant was found dead near Tuyen Lam forest with two cuts on his two hind legs. It is said that the elephant died because of losing blood from the two cuts. Its ivory and tail however were not removed.

    Phan Thi Hoa, director of the Nam Qua Ecological Tourism Co., Ltd, which owns the elephant, said that the elephant was still healthy on April 23. Its corpse was detected by elephant keepers on the morning of April 24, around 1km from the Tuyen Lam tourist site.

    The elephant was raised by Nam Qua Company to serve tourists in the Tuyen Lam tourist site.

    Before the lunar New Year, this elephant was attacked twice and injured seriously, but fortunately survived the elephant tusk and tail hair hunters.

    “We had to hire a veterinary doctor to take care of him for weeks. It had just recovered four months before it was killed,” said Hoa.

    In August 2010, some elephants in Da Lat’s tourist sites were attacked to take tail hairs. It is said that elephant tail hairs are “sacred objects”, so elephants are often attacked.

    Ninh Phan

    Last update 26/04/2011 03:49:49 PM (GMT+7)

    Da Lat’s elephant corpse is burned

    VietNamNet Bridge – The corpse of the elephant which was killed in the Central Highland city of Da Lat several days ago was burned on April 25, under the witness of local forest protection agency and relevant agencies.

    Ten young staff members at the Tuyen Lam tourist site were mobilized to burn the dead elephant. The task was estimated to take place in one day.

    The entire elephant corpse, including tale and ivory, was burnt by petrol and wood.

    The tourist site’s manager, Anh Vu, said that the elephant, named after British football star Beckham, was dead for one day, but the smell was very bad, so it must be burned urgently.

    Beckham had been bred at the tourist site for a long time and it was the most beautiful elephant in Da Lat. The elephant had both tusks and tail, while other elephants in Da Lat have lost these parts. Beckham was very obedient, gentle and friendly.

    The elephant was around 4 tons, 38 years old. It was bought from the Dak Lak province in 2000, at the price of VND700 million (around US$40,000). Its job was serving tourists at the Tuyen Lam tourist site.

    Beckham was found dead in the forest around 3km from the Tuyen Lam tourist site on April 24, next to pools of blood. The elephant was stabbed and its hind leg tendons were cut off. However, its tusks and tail were not chopped. An axe was found near the elephant corpse.

    Last year the elephant was attacked twice, suffering 38 wounds, and it took him several months to treat the wounds.

    Local police are investigating the case. Some elephant keepers said that the murderer might be familiar to the elephant.

    According to the Da Lat Forest Protection Bureau, there are five elephants at tourist sites in Da Lat now.

    The Central Highland province of Dak Lak currently has the highest number of tamed elephants in Vietnam. In the 1980s, the province had more than 500 elephants, but the current number is only 54.

  • checking in at ENP

    checking in at ENP

    My return flight to Los Angeles leaves from Bangkok, which was the perfect excuse to go back to Elephant Nature Park one more time to see the progress made by Chang Yim and Karl.

    Yim never ceases to impress me. He has made yet another transition from Karl to his new mahout, Lai. Karl has worked diligently over the past many weeks training Lai, and Yim has been a real trouper. There is no doubt in my mind that Chang Yim will miss the special relationship between him and Karl, but Yim has a bigger mission. He has the opportunity to teach a “traditional” mahout a different way, a more humane and gentler way to manage him and his family members. This move from Karl to Lai is actually quite monumental in the big picture…Yim is the catalyst for change. I am so proud to know him.

    In addition to satisfying my curiosity about Yim’s progress, my return to ENP was to give Karl some pointers on training the elephants to place their leg on the trimming stool recently built for back foot trims. Once the elephants are trained, I will be able to return and finish the foot care clinic I started.

    Mae Tee and Mae Kham Geao were our first students. The initial hurdle was getting the ladies to start thinking for themselves, no easy task for elephants who for decades had been conditioned not to think. The training was slow and at times appeared to be at a standstill, but, I could see the wheels slowly beginning to turn in their heads. Patience was the key.

    After two days, my time at the park was up. Karl was well on his way to conditioning Mae Tee and Mae Kham Geao to voluntarily lift their back legs, a requirement in order to slide a trimming stood underneath for support. I felt torn leaving—I always do—but I had confidence that Karl would do just fine.

    Today, a little before four, I received a call from Karl. At first I was apprehensive because Faa Mai is experiencing some unidentified health issue. But the news was all good: Faa Mai seems a little better. But the reason Karl had called was not to update me on Faa Mai, it was to tell me that Mae Tee and Mae Kham Geao got it! They were lifting their back legs off the ground and suspending them in the air when asked. The both of them!

    What do you bet they talked about it over the past two days? It comes as no surprise that both ladies, dear friends who spend all their time together, figured out what Karl wanted in the same training session. Karl was so pleased, and WOW — what can I say. I am so proud of everyone involved in this work: Karl, Dam (the Maes’ mahout), Jody and Sophie (treat givers) and especially Maes Tee and Kham Geao, the ladies of the hour. I sure wish I could have been there to share in the cheers and congratulations showered on the ladies, but I was there in spirit. Planting the seed and seeing it grow, one World, one elephant at a time — in this case, two elephants at a time!

  • Seeds of Change

    Seeds of Change

    April 13

    My work in Sauraha has come to an end, at least for the time being.  Seeds of change have been planted. From the looks of it, some seeds are already growing, quietly shifting the soil around their sprouting roots. Experiencing the fruits of my labor so instantaneously fills me with hope.

    Yesterday when Kiran and I arrived for Bhadra’s morning session we were told that Ramji, his mahout, was off making preparations for the New Year’s Day celebration. I jumped at the chance to work with Bhadra in Ramji’s absence.  But my excitement was quickly doused when Bhadra made it perfectly clear that he would work with me but under protest.

    After completing each request Bhadra would do a mini mock lunge from behind the protective barrier. It seemed that he was clearly bothered about something to do with me. He was responding but being snotty. I have seen this type of behavior before when training a new mahout who struggles to keep pace with an advanced elephant student. I did not make that analogy until sometime later.

    The next day, the motivation behind Bhadra’s behavior became apparent. In our absence, Ramji had risen to a challenge from Kiran to prove his skill with Bhadra within three months. The ultimate goal: to show everyone how far he could take Bhadra with positive reinforcement training.

    Ramji proved his skills beyond question when he surprised us by calling Bhadra from the protection of the corral and proceeded to ask him to present his feet and ears, move to the side, back up and put his head down. I was stunned. They were fabulous. Ramji, all cool, calm, and collected, Bhadra listening intently and responding to each verbal cue. I wish you could have been there to see it for yourself, but I did catch it on video. This type of breakthrough must be documented in order for others to believe.

    Needless to say, Kiran was pleasantly surprised at the immediate progress in less than a week!  Ramji obviously took the challenge seriously, resulting in a display that had me grinning from ear to ear, joyful with disbelief.

    Ramji earned much deserved respect today, and Bhadra…well, he already has my heart. He has now joined the ranks of the “MIGHTY TYKES,” the young elephants in Thailand and now Nepal participating in this important case study of positive reinforcement training. These youngsters are the hope of the future: what they teach us and their mahouts will shape elephant training of the future. They are demonstrating how positive reinforcement training can be used with captive elephants in a hands-on working situation.  We owe them and their mahouts a great debt of gratitude.

    Kiran knew instinctively that witnessing Bhadra and Ramji’s incredible accomplishments would make my day, my last in Sauraha. It was wonderful to see how proud he was. Kiran has been an invaluable asset throughout the training process. I doubt he realizes the role he has played in this cultural shift of mahout attitudes, which has the potential to change the future for captive elephants. The future is bright indeed.

    I left Sauraha today with a heavy heart, heavy with the joy of knowing that we have planted a seed. I for one cannot wait to see how it grows.

  • a fiery red head

    a fiery red head

    I’ve got a new heartthrob. He is smart, dark and seriously handsome, with a full head of fiery red hair! Admittedly on the young side, Bhadra still lives with his mom and spends the entire day gallivanting in the Chitwan National Forest.

    We met two days ago and have spent only limited time together but let me tell you this little boy is smart. He is my latest ele-student, one year old and full of spunk and sweetness. There goes another piece of my heart!

    Bhadra lives at a private resort on the border of Chitwan National Park with his mother, his sister and other non-related family. The resort has been closed for a couple of years, making life that much easier on this elephant family. No tourist rides, just lazy days in the forest and short training sessions, when Bhadra gets to demonstrate to his mahouts what elephants are capable of when trained through positive reinforcement.

    The mahouts have been fabulous, very interested and engaged. Bhadra has only had four 15-minute sessions over the past two days and now responds to agot (come here) and ra (stand still), and presents his pow (foot), kan (ear) and thuk mud (head) when asked. Things were a little slow getting started because Bhadra surprised me by not liking bananas or apples. His mahouts knew exactly what he would like — molasses. One taste of the favored treat and he was all ears, head and feet!

    What a blessing it has been to work with him. Hopefully together we have planted a seed with these young mahouts.

  • Kasara Camp

    Kasara Camp

    Today I traveled many kilometers through Chitwan National Park to reach my foot trimming clients. To get there, I hiked to the river’s edge, boarded a small sailing vessel, crossed a river and drove through a magnificent forest, crossing over creeks on what I would call barely-bridges (as opposed to sturdy concrete ones). It was a wonderful adventure!

    When I reached the river, the tourists were packed like sardines in their low-rider boats with a boatman steering them lazily down river. Dr. Geare, the head Government veterinarian at Chitwan National Park, Chitra, a vet tech who works with Dr. Geare, and I were ushered onto our private dugout canoe with removable seats (little wooden stools that fold up against the side of the canoe when not in use), which silently glided across the river to the sand bank on the opposite side.

    Our driver magically appeared. We climbed into a truck and I must say had a ride of my life. It was only after we picked up several young soldiers hoofing it back to camp that I was able to release my firm grip on the door frame, the only thing keeping me from bouncing out of my seat and hitting head on the roof. The weight of the men in the back gave the truck better traction and kept the back end from bouncing up and down like a trampoline. It was a great ride through a beautiful forest.

    Within minutes a wild boar had crossed the road, male peacocks could be seen and heard sounding their calls, a monkey clung to the side of a tree, a couple of deer flashed by and too many muggers (crocs) sunned themselves along the back of a small creek.

    Our destination was the Kasara forest camp where four government elephants live. What a shift from Sauraha. Don’t get me wrong — Sauraha is a nice place for the government elephants — but in Kasara the elephants are really living in the forest. If I could only get rid of the chains and hobbles and put up some hot wire fencing, I would really feel as if I was helping them. Okay, one thing at a time — first feet trimming and then more freedom!

    Kiran was not with us today, but Chitra also excels at foot trimming. Upon arrival, I found that instead of the three elephants I was expecting there were actually four. Three elephants were scheduled for foot trims which is why they made it on the list, or maybe it was because the fourth elephant actually is unnamed. She is Laxmi Kali’s year-old calf. When I asked her name, a slight hesitation was followed by, “Her name is Laxmi’s calf.”

    After spending several days trimming the feet of privately owned elephants, I must admit that today really highlighted the differences from those owned by the government. The government mahouts seem to have a much better relationship with their elephants. They do not yell incessantly nor strike their elephants absentmindedly, which is good because Chitra and Dr. Geare had already heard my request for no pit neu. Actually, my request has grown more sophisticated following an impromptu Nepalese lesson I had last night. I was told that no pit neu is nonsensical and that the proper way to get my point across in proper Nepalese is hati lie na pita, which translated means, “Do not hit the elephant.”

    The foot trimming went smoothly, with the mahouts seeing for the first time how to administer proper foot care. They were very interested and helpful, and each appeared proud when his elephant’s trimming was completed.

    Just as we were finishing up with Laxmi Kali, her calf decided that it was time for a drink and let out a boisterous “I’m thirsty!” yell. Mom immediately threw her hind leg in the air to get up, a fair warning to the mahouts that she really needed to respond to her calf. We all laughed, knowing how the babies call the shots. Laxmi jumped to her feet and baby got the drink she was so thirsting for.

  • Nepal Mobile Pedicure Parlor

    Nepal Mobile Pedicure Parlor

    Foot trimming with the privately owned elephants started yesterday. Once again Kiran, a veterinary technician working with NTNC and the government in Chitwan National Park, came through, setting up the foot trimming schedule and arranging for the elephants to be at the stable.

    Sona Kali laid down to expose feet in dire need of trimming. Her back pads were okay but the nails on all four feet were severely overgrown, decayed and split. The pads of her front feet had deep black tracks of bacteria.

    The first difficulty we experienced was the mahout’s failure to respond to Kiran’s direction. At first I thought he was ignoring Kiran and then it seemed he did not understand what Kiran was saying. Araw means stop and, even if you don’t speak Nepalese, a mahout would know that word because they use it with their elephants continually. But when Kiran said “araw,” the mahout kept cutting. Without hesitation, Kiran took the knife and continued the trimming himself. The mahout training was a bit slow at first but when he finally started following Kiran’s directions, it seemed that he could end up being a good foot trimmer.

    Kiran’s and my partnership is well established. He starts with the big cutting, shaving down the overgrown nails, and I follow up with digging out the rotten areas, taking off more of the overgrown nail and shaping everything into place. It is a pleasure to work with him, not only because he does a good job but because he takes pride in doing a good job. When I am deep in concentration focused on a problem area Kiran will say, “Carol, please,” which I have come to understand means “move out of the way with that sissy knife and let me cut away more of that excess nail.” I am happy to oblige him because I can save my energy for sculpting.
    I must admit that Sona Kali’s feet had me sweating — they were definitely the most overgrown so far. We were able to trim her nails into shape but the thick tracks of bacteria were so deep between the toes of her front feet, it will take several follow-up visits over the next many weeks to bring her feet back to health.

    With all that Kiran has done to make this Nepal Mobile Pedicure Parlor a success, I want to raise some funds to show appreciation. There are forty private owned elephant here in Sauraha so we have our work cut out for us, but the effort is worth it: the elephants will have healthier feet and the mahouts will acquire additional skills. The truth is that I could not have provided this service without Kiran’s assistance.