One of my favourite animals is the elephant. It is a fantastic animal and one of the reasons that I faithfully pay my WWF and Greenpeace yearly membership fees to help protect them and their natural habitat.
Near Ubud there is an Elephant Sanctuary which houses 30 endangered Sumatran elephants. These elephants are bred here and tourists can visit the park and see these beautiful animals in a jungle setting.
My first shock came as we got to the park - each Elephant was chained up. There is a large clearing with a concrete pad and that is where they spend the night! After the morning feed, they are let loose and follow their trainers around the park. Of course, these are trained elephants, wild elephants can not be bathed, fed nor ridden.
I asked the mahout ( elephant trainer) why they were chained up during the night and he showed me the sign... by Balinese law they must be chained if unattended. They are not permitted to run loose, much like leash laws for dogs.
And, yes, we bathed and rode the elephants and it was one of the most fantastic things I have ever done.
The park is certified by the International Zoo Association and they are well treated. Sure, life in the wild would be nicer but there is no "wild" for them to return to. So instead of condemning elephant tourism we should work to maintain their habitat by not buying products from companies which are using palm oil obtained by deforestation of Sumatra.
The Sumatran elephant is critically endangered, loss of habitat to palm oil plantations mean they are foraging into villages and coming into conflict with the Sumatran people who sometimes even poison them.
So, as strange as it sounds, you can help save the Sumatran Elephant by not buying Biofuel!
See more here: The battle to save sumatra elephants from extinction - CNN
Near Ubud there is an Elephant Sanctuary which houses 30 endangered Sumatran elephants. These elephants are bred here and tourists can visit the park and see these beautiful animals in a jungle setting.
Feeding the elephants - they loved the coconut cuttings
My first shock came as we got to the park - each Elephant was chained up. There is a large clearing with a concrete pad and that is where they spend the night! After the morning feed, they are let loose and follow their trainers around the park. Of course, these are trained elephants, wild elephants can not be bathed, fed nor ridden.
I asked the mahout ( elephant trainer) why they were chained up during the night and he showed me the sign... by Balinese law they must be chained if unattended. They are not permitted to run loose, much like leash laws for dogs.
Elephant Sanctuary is located in Taro by Ubud, It is in a National Park but surrounding the park are villages and rice fields. This the view from the park.
And, yes, we bathed and rode the elephants and it was one of the most fantastic things I have ever done.
The trainer had the elephant lie on it's side and we helped him scrub it. They have very thick and hairy skin.
The park is certified by the International Zoo Association and they are well treated. Sure, life in the wild would be nicer but there is no "wild" for them to return to. So instead of condemning elephant tourism we should work to maintain their habitat by not buying products from companies which are using palm oil obtained by deforestation of Sumatra.
The trainer was also from Sumatra... they earn 10$ a day for this very dangerous job!
The Sumatran elephant is critically endangered, loss of habitat to palm oil plantations mean they are foraging into villages and coming into conflict with the Sumatran people who sometimes even poison them.
So, as strange as it sounds, you can help save the Sumatran Elephant by not buying Biofuel!
See more here: The battle to save sumatra elephants from extinction - CNN
Comments
Post a Comment