Elephant Nature Park Newsletter - Oct 07

In This Issue...

Where to start? There is so much to tell in this issue that it will probably sound like an episode from a soap opera, but what we relay to you is truly from witnessed actual events involving the Park elephants, not exaggerated or elaborated. It is amazing how elephants' relationships and interactions with each other are so similar to humans which is why it is so easy for us to relate to them, feel sympathy or pity for them and above all, fall in love with them. So read on and let the drama unfold in the latest update of Rumbles and Trumpets from the Jungle….

Community Outreach Projects with Mungkut Village

Always trying to improve the relations with our neighbors in Mungkut village across the river, Lek has invited interested people from Mungkut to come to the Park every Monday and perform a "welcome ceremony" for our new volunteers and visitors. This involves a blessing and beautiful traditional northern Thai music. Early each Monday morning, a truck full of elderly ladies from the village arrives and they spend the entire day creating and preparing the ornate decorations and displays made of flowers and intricately folded banana leaves that are part of this ceremony. It is a wonderful and educational way for our visitors to get a glimpse into this classic tradition in the Thai way of life.

Along with this, we now have a staff of masseuses on duty, also from the village. This group of lovely ladies give amazing massages in the afternoons and evenings for the affordable price of 120 baht an hour. Now you never have to leave the Park for any of the comforts of Chiang Mai! Besides being very competent masseuses, these women help out in the kitchen and are just great company to have around to practice your Thai and chat with a local. What better way is there for a volunteer to end their day of scooping poo and planting grass than with an evening massage?

And speaking of volunteers, now part of the volunteer program is visiting Mungkut school every Thursday morning for a bit of cross-cultural interaction. The volunteers visit five classrooms and do some art projects, teach some English, sing songs, help out with physical education, and work in the kitchen preparing the school's lunches. It is loads of fun for volunteers and students alike and once again a great way to bond with the villagers.

August and September Mahouts of the Month

This award incentive program was started thanks to funding from Park supporter Nancy Abraham of the Alexander Abraham Foundation. The mahout who is chosen for this title is given a bonus of 3,000 Thai baht and recognition for a job well done.

The Mahout of the Month chosen for August was Dam. As Hope's mahout, Dam has one of the hardest jobs in the Park. Hope is a lively and curious elephant. Always looking for some mischief to get into, he can move from place to place quickly and needs an attentive and in-shape mahout, ready to sprint across the Park to retrieve Hope from possible troublesome situations.

Dam has a wonderful attitude in dealing with Hope. He is very patient and cool-headed, which are very positive traits when dealing with a young boy who has a lot of spirit and who likes to try to make his own decisions (like any 7-year-old)! Dam has previous experience with "difficult to work with" males and was asked to come work at Elephant Nature Park specifically for this reason. He has been Hope's mahout for over a year now and his attentiveness and gentle but dominant training techniques show in Hope's behavior. Hope still receives positive reinforcement training sessions every evening and is constantly moving forward in his lessons. Besides his wonderful work with Hope, Dam is also a friendly and courteous person with all of the visitors. He is always helpful, and is kind and gentle with all of the animals at the Park. We are happy to have him as part of the staff of Elephant Nature Park.

Septembers winner is Tun, mahout of Medo. Tun has been working at Elephant Nature Park for over 2 years now. He was originally the mahout of Mae Mai and gained popularity with his patient approach with her and her then-constant companion Mae Tong Bai. Mae Mai moves a bit slowly due to old logging injuries and Tun never asked her to hurry when working with her. After two years with Mae Mai he was moved to work as Mae Perm's mahout. He was also very gentle with Mae Perm and adapted well to working with her family group: a family group which includes Hope, the Park's resident troublemaker. Tun's non-aggressive attitude allowed Hope to accept him easily and not question his authority. Tun works well in a family group of elephants and always pulls his weight. He is also always ready to help if there is any problem that needs an extra hand. Recently, he became Medo's mahout when her previous mahout left the park. Again, his gentle and patient manner was ideal for an elephant in Medo's condition. He is friendly and gentle with all of the animals at Elephant Nature Park and is a valued member of the Park staff. His wife Om works in the kitchen, and they have a 4-year-old daughter named Gaeng Hom. Our second Mahout of the Month for September is Bpang, the mahout of Mae Lanna. Bpang has only been caring for Mae Lanna for about five months, and he had no mahouting experience when he arrived here. He has settled into his new career wonderfully and is a kind and patient mahout. He takes very good care of Mae Lanna and is always by her side, or not far behind her. He lets her take her time and go where she wants. She has taken a while to settle in as she is 85% blind and has just recently begun to feel confident. We are happy that this special-needs elephant has a mahout who is devoted to giving her the best care and making her feel safe and comfortable

Ele Gossip!

Max is out of musth now. He had unexpectedly went into musth on July 29th, not displaying many early warming signs. It seemed to be what can be termed as a "silent musth" where the bull has no temporin flowing but becomes belligerent and hard to manage. Towards the end of August, his mahout Karl decided that he could be managed well enough to be moved to various places around the Park with his chain in tow as a safety precaution. During this period, Max gave Karl a few "runs for his money" so to speak, unexpectedly charging and swinging at Karl and possibly overextending the muscles and joints in his 70-year-old elephant legs.

In the meantime, his personality with the ladies is as genteel as ever, and his ever-present group of admirers has been with him at all times. Mae Mai is still persistent, but was temporarily backed off by Jokia and Mae Perm when Jokia became smitten with the 'grand old man' and decided her mornings were reserved for quality time with Max. Mae Perm is content to chaperone, and Somboon usually stops by as well. Jokia even became a bit possessive of Max and got aggressive towards Mae Mai over him, pushing her away.

It is well known that Max is non-aggressive in his interactions with the ladies: he is not intimidating, and is content to just "trunk drape" and cuddle. Jokia is usually shy and a bit uninterested with males, as being blind puts her less at ease for "intimate" contact. In this circumstance though it seems that her time spent with Max just left her wanting more.

In a surprising twist of events, after about a week of constantly hanging out with Max, Jokia turned her attentions to the young bull Phu Pa, allowing him to mount her (multiple times over the course of the next few days) and seeming to not be able to get enough of the Park gigolo. Mae Perm didn't know what to think and stayed right with the pair, worrying Jokia might feel threatened. Many other females took interest in these events and caused a bit of a disruption, not allowing Phu Pa to focus. Park "hussy" Mae Keow had to be pulled away by her mahout, her jealousy showing. This went on for 2� days. Max, seemingly forgotten by Jokia, turned his attentions to Somboon.

Jokia seemed torn between the laid-back affections of Max and the youthful vitality of Phu Pa, but soon the ardor wore off with the young stud-muffin and the stability of the older male pulled her back.

All of this action has been affecting the lives of other elephants at the Park as well. Boon Khum, growing resentful of all of Max's female admirers, bides his time waiting for the moment when he can remind Max he is the number one bull in the Park, despite female opinion. In the meantime, with no attention from the mature females at the park, he turns to the young (she's only 8�, BK, come on!) Dok Ngern to see if she is interested in an older man. The Jokia–Phu Pa episode had its effect on Mae Keow as well. It seems her "empire is crumbling." For months Mae Keow's relationship with Mae Boon Ma has been deteriorating, after a recent tail-biting incident at Elephant Haven, Mae Boon Ma has decided to call it quits with Mae Keow and seek other companionship. She has been seen in the company of Mae Boon most recently. But even worse for Mae Keow is that her beloved adopted nephew Tong Suk ('Jungle Boy'), of whom she is a bit overprotective, has seemed to desert her as well. Instead, he is choosing instead to spend his days and nights with newer arrival Mae Lanna, who is 85% blind. She has befriended the juvenile bull, deciding that he and his growing tusks will help ward off some of the Park bullies and protect her from harm. This new relationship seems genuine, though Tong Suk does take some time out to wrestle with Hope and socialize with Lilly and his auntie (soon to be ex-auntie?) Mae Keow, but to nowhere near the same extent as in the past.

Mae Nual's Owner Takes Her Back

Mae Nual had arrived at the Park on April 3rd for maternity leave, though it was not sure just "how pregnant" she was. Her owner wanted her to rest and relax and wasn't asking for a monthly lease wage. She seemed to be enjoying her time at the Park, though she stayed on the fringes and didn't really make any friends. Sadly, just when she had started getting interested in Aura (Mae Boon's daughter) in late July, her owner decided to remove her from the Park. It was sad to see her leave, but when an elephant arrives for a temporary basis, it is up to the owner to decide how long they stay. We wish her all the luck with her pregnancy and hope she gives birth to a healthy baby and that her owner will reconsider the possibility of her (along with her baby) returning to the Park after it is born.

Antoinette van de Water's Latest Achievements Supporting Elephant Nature Park

Recently, Antoinette van de Water (of the Bring the Elephant Home Foundation) entered a Vodaphone®-sponsored contest titled A World of Difference. The entries had to write a proposal in regards to working for an NGO of their choice for one year. The person with the most innovative ideas and plan would be awarded travel and living expenses, plus a one-year salary of €25,000.
Antoinette won this contest with an action plan to plant 100,000 trees in one year for elephant habitat in and around Elephant Nature Park land! For more details on Antoinette's project and to learn more about her foundation, please visit her website.
Also involving Antoinette and her continuing work to help the Thai elephant is the recent "Roscar" award given to Return to the Wild. This documentary was made about Park residents Sri Nuan and Dok Ngern's journey from a life of exploitation to the freedom of Elephant Nature Park. (This was Antoinette's maiden "Bring the Elephant Home" voyage.) The documentary focuses on elephant family bonds, introduces Lek and Elephant Nature Park, and includes the stories of BK and Medo.
The "Roscar" is a South African award for best conservation film. Out of 120 entrants, Return to the Wild was voted #1. The documentary actually won another award at the film festival as well in the "most urgent call for action" category.
The film will be broadcast worldwide on Animal Planet starting in November. Copies will be available for purchase at the Park and on the Bring the Elephant Home website. All funds from the sale of the documentary will go directly towards helping the elephants.

Happy Birthday, Lek!

October 6th was Lek's birthday. She doesn't like a big deal made out of her birthday, so instead of a traditional celebration and fanfare all gave their help to the Park and the elephants. Mother nature even gave on Lek's birthday: we have had a very dry rainy season and were "treated" with a heavy, constant downpour on Lek's special day.
The previous Thursday, when the volunteers went to the local school, they got the children involved and had them draw many birthday cards featuring elephants, all creatively designed. On Lek's birthday all the volunteers, joined by many of the children and their teachers (and our massage ladies, too!), planted as many seedling trees as possible on the Park grounds, which will some day provide shade and fodder for the Park herd. It was a fun and muddy event enjoyed by all despite the downpour. And it was well worth it to see the pleasure and surprise on Lek's face when she arrived at the Park later that day.
That evening the mahouts played a birthday song and the elephant song, and presented Lek with a "card" signed by all of them in the form of a painting of some of the Park elephants (the artist was Le Poh, the mahout of Mae Perm).

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