Nepal HEC Workshop

GETTING ALONG WITH ELEPHANTS:

Workshop in Bardiya National Park, Nepal, addressing the very real life/death decisions local people make on a daily basis when they share living space with elephants.

In 2009, Zoo Outreach Organization conducted a series of Human Elephant Coexistence and conservation education programs training about 120 educators in various elephant range areas of Nepal.  The evaluation of this program found it to be very effective and it was decided similar training was necessary in other parts of Bardiya National Park.  A three-day workshop was organized for November 3 to 6, 2016, with Asian Elephant Support providing the financial means.

Participants included village heads, village council members, teachers, Nepal Armed Forces that deal with inter-border wildlife issues, members from NGOs, volunteers, and forest personnel.  AES advisor Heidi Riddle, Riddles Wildlife & Elephant Sanctuary; Naresh Subedi from the National Trust for Nature Conservation; and B. A. Daniel of Zoo Outreach were the main resource persons.

During the workshop a variety of educational materials developed exclusively for Nepal were used including Getting Along With Elephants, a brochure that includes species information, has activities related to Asian culture and the Asian elephant, human-elephant conflict (HEC) case studies and morals, history of HEC in Nepal and other Asian elephant range countries, various mitigation measures, and some important guidelines for people to mitigate HEC in their daily lives.  The materials were thoughtfully designed and created for a carefully selected class of individuals in positions to teach what they have learned to others.

This workshop included 32 participants plus the three instructors.  The survey participants completed at the end of the three-day workshop is geared to measure their knowledge gained of the presented elephant information.  The highest range difference of ‘before’ and ‘after’ the workshop was 9% to 90%.  The group average score was 38.98% before and 82.35% after.  Each participant received a pledge card to commit to practice teaching what they learned in the next three to four months, while the coordinating institutions committed to follow up with the participant educators to spread the word of HECx with their respective audiences.

Education is a core component of conservation as well as caring for today’s elephants.  We thank YOU, our supporters, for helping us provide quality learning opportunities that will pay themselves forward to even larger audiences.  

Elephant and Tiger Workshop

Regional Asian Elephant and Tiger Veterinary Workshop in Kerala, India

Dr. Arun Zachariah1, 2; Heidi S. Riddle3

1 Centre for Wildlife Studies, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Science University; 2 Department of Forest and Wildlife, Government of Kerala; 3 Asian Elephant Support

Elephant and tiger veterinarians from around Asia participated in the Regional Asian Elephant and Tiger Veterinary Workshop held in Pookode, Kerala, India, from February 1-4, 2016.  This Workshop was jointly hosted by the Centre for Wildlife Studies, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Science University, and the Department of Forest and Wildlife, Government of Kerala. The Workshop was supported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Asian Elephant Conservation Fund in collaboration with Asian Elephant Support.

The Regional Asian Elephant and Tiger Veterinary Workshop continued the efforts of two earlier regional Workshops hosted in Aceh, Sumatra-Indonesia in March 2012, and in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar in March 2014.  These Workshops build local and regional capacity in elephant veterinary care which improves the expertise needed for effective wildlife conservation in Asia. The Kerala Workshop included tiger health issues to broaden the scope of wildlife health and strengthen the capacity of field veterinarians in range countries.  Asian elephants and tigers are highly endangered and in threat of local extinction in some range countries.  Veterinary expertise is important to conservation efforts, especially at the interface of wildlife, humans, and livestock, and for mitigating human-wildlife conflicts.  The Regional Asian Elephant and Tiger Veterinary Workshop addressed wildlife health from the ecosystem perspective and discussed topics such as disease spill over from humans and/or livestock to wildlife, emerging diseases and/or disease prevalence, as well as reducing stressors in the environment.

Evidence of emerging diseases in wildlife has already been established in Kerala.  Furthermore, in the past two years, Kerala experienced more than 200 cases of elephant and tiger conflict incidents causing loss to human life, property, and agriculture; 44 of these incidents required health and veterinary expertise.  Wildlife health studies have been ongoing in this region, and this Workshop served as a catalyst for networking with the wider regional communities of wildlife health experts in Asia.

Presentations covered not only veterinary issues but also broader topics of human-wildlife conflicts, Asian elephant and tiger ecology and behavior, and also introduced Siberian tiger health issues.  The Regional Asian Elephant and Tiger Veterinary Workshop hosted almost 70 participants, including representatives from many of the Asian elephant and tiger range countries such as India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand, as well as veterinarians from Great Britain, and U.S.

The Workshop offered a field visit to a nearby protected area, Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, which has wild populations of elephants and tigers.  Additionally a Forest Department elephant camp is located in the Reserve.  Participants were able to view wild elephants during a drive through the Reserve.  At the elephant camp, Forest Department staff discussed the camp elephant management and feeding strategies, as well as elephant health issues.  This visit was a unique opportunity for participants to see the traditional use of Forest Department elephants in a protected area in India, and discuss the comprehensive veterinary program that the Department has in place for these working elephants.

These Regional Veterinary Workshops underscore the importance of veterinary science for wild and captive elephant and tiger conservation in Asian range countries.  As a result of these three workshops, there is better communication amongst wildlife veterinarians in Asia, and the sharing of information and experiences has increased.  Additionally several field course initiatives to continue practical training opportunities for wildlife veterinarians in Asia have resulted from these Workshops.

Mayapur Temple Elephants with Dr. Sarma

An account by Ms. Hrimati Dasi, 

Dr. Sarma’s visit started with me fetching him from the Kolkata airport. The 3-4 hour car ride via the bumpy and crowded National highway 34, is filled up with talks about the doctor's past elephant adventures.

We arrive late in Mayapur and I check him into his guest room, which I had pre booked for him. After Kushal stopped at my house for a hot and fresh  cup of my own cow's milk, I equip the doctor with my extra bicycle, so he can easily make it early in the morning to the Mayapur elephant care center.

Our elephants rise from their slumber before sunrise and are bathed and groomed by their dedicated mahouts and taken out for their routine morning walk.

I meet the Doctor at 6:30 am at the care center, setup the microscope and prepared the elephant dung for examination. The doctor was very satisfied with the findings. No fasicola and only one strongyloid ova was found. As we discussed the course of treatment and a deworming schedule.  Our beautiful young ladies, Laksmipriya and Bishnupriya entered the gate to the care center from their morning walk.

After they drank water, I took their body measurements, while the Doctor wrote it down in the medical register.  

Krishna Pada Ghosh, a local Veterinary assistant, joined us to administer tetanus vaccinations to the elephants. After they were vaccinated, it was time to inspect the bottom of the elephant's feet. "It's not too bad." said the doctor, "only a little trimming of the nails is needed."

Three mahouts, Mintu, Bharat and Ajay, Dr. Sarma and myself, all got to do the pedicure on our Princesses!  Having the girls lay down on their sides is the most practical way to get the foot work done.  Because we routinely give foot care to the elephants, they are very cooperative and calm while getting their pedicure done.

After being so well behaved and patient with us, the girls received some more extra fresh cut grass from our grass cutting crew.

While the elephants munched on their breakfast, their doctor discussed their general diet plan and fodder varieties with us. To keep the elephants in topmost health, we grow organically a variety of fodder 'in house' for them, according to season.

In the afternoon, after another bath, we hand fed their rations, which consists of soaked chickpeas, multi mineral/vitamin powder and black salt or/and natural rock salt, which gets wrapped in banana leaf.

Our mahouts know Dr. Sarma well. In their native State of Assam, elephant keeping is an age old tradition. So, when the doctor visits, they discuss elephants, many elephants. It is always a pleasure to listen in on their elephant adventure stories.

Before retiring for the night, I gave Kushal a little tour of our temple compound. We visited some shops and even bought a nice shirt for him to bring back home to his daughter.

The next morning was Sunday and, like every Sunday, time for a long walk to the next village Rajapur. It takes about an hour and a half for the elephants to walk to the mango groves in Rajapur, where a nice healthy breakfast of napier grass was waiting for them, before returning back to Mayapur.

In Mayapur it was time for our breakfast and to say goodby to the Doctor.

While I read the health report for our two elephants, Laksmipriya and Bishnupriya, I am thankful that they are able to receive the best possible medical care. Dr. Kushal Sarma has already many more elephants waiting for him, not only in Assam, but many other places in India.

Thank you AES, for making it possible.

Collaboration for Education & Elephants: Dr. Zachariah and Dr. Stremme

Asian Elephant Support is fortunate to be able to work with two very talented and dedicated veterinarians:  Dr. Christopher Stremme and Dr. Arun Zachariah.

Dr. Stremme teaches at the Veterinary College of Unisyah University in Banda Aceh, Sumatra-Indonesia and he invited Dr. Zachariah to visit the University from September 23-25, 2016.  Dr. Zachariah is a senior veterinary officer with the Kerala Department of Forests and Wildlife, as well as an assistant Professor for wildlife studies at the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences Universsity, Pookode, India.  He is also a leading scientist on EEHV in wild and captive elephants in Asia and specializes in wildlife disease ecology and genetics.

The first day included meetings and informal discussions between Dr. Zachariah, the Dean of the Veterinary College, several professors, and lecturers. They discussed EEHV and several other wildlife diseases, their potential impact, and their importance for endangered species conservation.  In addition, Dr.  Zachariah visited the College’s laboratory facilities and gave advice on how it could be utilized for different wildlife disease studies.

On the second day, Dr. Zachariah conducted a seminar on wild Asian elephant and tiger diseases.  The topics included:

• Wildlife disease ecology and their conservation impact
• Current and emerging diseases in wild Asian elephants and tigers
• Post mortem procedures in Asian elephants and tigers

The seminar was attended by a total of 67 participants including veterinary students, Veterinary College lecturers, professors, and BKSDA (Nature Conservation Agency- Indonesia) veterinarians.

AES strongly believes in collaboration between individuals and facilities dedicated to helping elephants!  Being able to help fund the work of veterinarians such as Dr. Stremme and Dr. Zachariah is possible because of your support. Our thanks to you for helping to make such efforts possible!

Elefantasia's Mobile Vet Units

THE DOCTOR MAKES HOUSE CALLS –
Often nomadic, working in remote areas of isolated forest with access to veterinary medication and treatment often impossible, many captive elephants would suffer from horrific yet preventable conditions were it not for the veterinarians who make ‘house calls’.

In cooperation with the Lao National Animal Health Center, ElefantAsia implements free veterinary treatment for working elephants suffering from illness or injury via their Mobile Veterinary Units.  These vehicles are especially adapted for the treatment of elephants in remote logging sites, tourism centers, and villages where elephants are employed.  It also provides advice to mahouts on basic care and medicines.  

Laos Mobile Elephant Clinic

The Lao Elephant Care and Management Programme (LECMP) mobile veterinary units’ main project areas include Sayaboury, Luang Prabang, Champassak, and Vientiane provinces within the Lao PDR.  They carry out approximately 12 national field missions per annum with an additional 10 emergency missions within the same time frame.  Without the implementation of the Mobile Veterinary missions, many domesticated elephants, particularly those working in the logging industry, would suffer unnecessarily from treatable conditions such as abscesses, broken legs, and foot injuries.  Physical exhaustion and malnutrition are also issues of great concern.

A meeting is held on the first day of each LECMP mission to train the mahouts and elephant owners and give them information on specific subjects.  In 2013, the vet team offered a presentation on ‘tuberculosis in elephants and people’, to raise awareness about the zoonotic risk in the mahout community.  In 2015, the new registration system (ID cards) was introduced to the owners.  This year, several subjects of major interest will be discussed with mahouts such as ‘musth management and control to prevent accidents’ or ‘reproduction in elephants’.

Treating a bull with a large abcess

In Laos, the elephant population is decreasing at an alarming rate, presently registering 10 deaths per 3 births each year.  Very few captive female elephants in Laos are still candidates for breeding and those not given the opportunity to breed early enough are likely to develop reproductive tract pathologies that limit their fertility.  To ensure the viability of the Lao elephant population, the young females need to be urgently involved in a breeding program.  The LECMP team raises awareness in the mahout community regarding the benefits of a breeding program and gives incentives to the owners to breed their elephants.  Furthermore, alternative opportunities to logging are discussed with the mahouts and mahout associations were created to make a transition towards good tourism for logging elephants.

In addition, the Veterinary Units also implement a micro-chipping and registration campaign with introduction of elephant ID cards to identify all domesticated elephants in Laos.  The ID cards summarize the elephant’s information (age, sex, owner information, breeding, and medical history) in order to strengthen capacity for a sustainable management of the Lao elephant populations.  The identification cards work to safeguard the remaining captive elephants in Laos, in particular juveniles under the age of three which cannot be micro-chipped and are highly valued by illegal traders.  It also reduces the risk of illegal capture and trade of wild populations.

Taking a blood sample

Asian Elephant Support has helped fund various needs with ElefantAsia over the last several years and since the beginning of 2016, we are delighted to be able to offer financial support to this very much needed and worthwhile project that is managed and implemented very efficiently and effectively.  Our thanks to YOU, our donors, for helping us make a difference to the elephants of Laos.  

Hospital Grounds Updates: Fresh Water, School, Grass Plantation

AES is delighted to share this report recapping their past efforts with the elephant hospital in Myanmar. We have been able to financially support this project for over two years due to YOUR generous contributions:

Main Hospital

We constructed the elephant hospital which was funded by AES in 2014. This is the first building for treating and dispensing medication to sick elephants in Myanmar. This hospital is intended for all elephants; not just government elephants but also for privately owned elephants whose owners want to have their health assessed.

AES also funded this shelter where we can keep the sick or the babies and mother elephants under the shade of this building.

Infirmary

The grass was planted last year and the grass plantation was widened this year by about one acre by the mahouts. This grass is intended for babies or infirm elephants at the hospital.

Grass Plantation

AES funded water resources in 2016 not only for the elephants but also for mahouts’ families in that area. Clean water pumped from this well is used not only for washing and cooking but for drinking as well. The water tank can store about 800 or 900 gallons.

Water line to hospital

This is the primary school for mahouts’ children who are living at the elephant hospital. The school teachers’ salaries are provided by the Myanma Timber Enterprise. The funds for this building were provided by AES in 2016. During the 2016 academic year, we had five primary school children and more than five preschool children in attendance.

School Awareness Program Update

Do you ever wonder if your donation actually makes a difference for elephants?
The answer to that question is very simple, YES!

In 2015, AES was able to donate $4000 to the Biodiversity and Elephant Conservation Trust’s Schools Awareness Program. This program helps educate children in 150 schools per year on the urgent need to conserve Sri Lanka’s wild elephant population. The following is a portion of a report from Jayantha Jayewardene, Managing Trustee of BECT.

Report on Schools Awareness Program 2015

The program has been designed with a view to giving students a better idea of the habits, ecology, social behavior, and basic biology of elephants, as well as presenting ways to minimize human-elephant conflicts and damage.

Progress of Program

In 2015 we carried out Schools Awareness Programs in 40 schools on behalf of the Asian Elephant Support.  These schools were from six (6) districts around the island. On an average there were 143 children and 7 teachers present at each of these programs. The principals of these schools have recorded their appreciation of our programs in a Record Book, which we maintain. A map showing the districts where the programs were carried out is at the end of this report.

The cost of carrying out this program per school is $ 100. This includes fees for lecturers, transport, accommodation, food and books for the school library. The program was carried out in 40 schools on behalf of Asian Elephant Support, whose grant was $ 4,000.

With the knowledge that is imparted to the children, they will have a better understanding and appreciation of the problem of human-elephant conflicts and know in greater detail about the natural and socio-cultural history of the elephants. This will reduce the negative attitude towards the elephant by the local communities, especially among the younger generations so that they can then be persuaded to take a more positive role in the conservation of elephants in the future.

Human-Elephant Conflict in Asia

Recently Asian Elephant Support collaborated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services’ Asian Elephant Conservation Fund to produce a document titled “Human-Elephant Conflict in Asia”.

Human-elephant conflict (HEC) is a complex interaction between humans and elephants, and represents the detrimental impact both species have on each other. For the purpose of this document, the use of the term ‘HEC’ implies the detrimental impact that elephants have on humans. This takes the form of crop raiding and property damage, and also involves manslaughter and injury to people. The most common negative interaction between human and elephants in this context is crop raiding. Consequently crop raiding is the most referred to aspect when HEC is mentioned in the document.

HEC has been identified as a major threat to elephant conservation by all Asian elephant range countries; they all experience HEC and loss of human life due to elephants. Elephant deaths due to retaliatory killing by people have been reported by most range countries. HEC adversely affects the people who live in and around elephant habitat. It also adversely affects elephants and undermines efforts to conserve the species. The greatest danger HEC poses to elephants is the antagonism it generates among local communities towards elephant conservation. If elephant conservation is to succeed in Asia, then HEC will have to be resolved, or the conflict minimized to the point where it becomes tolerable to local communities.

There are two main constraints in planning and implementing HEC mitigation; one is the absence of a problem analysis guide that helps people work through the complexities of HEC to determine the multiple levels at which different types of interventions are needed. Second is the absence of a comprehensive information source on the different methods (interventions) available for conflict mitigation and how they need to be implemented. Additionally, in the absence of such a document, gaps in our collective conservation knowledge cannot be determined.

The goal of this project was to review existing HEC mitigation efforts in all 13 Asian elephant range countries by reviewing documents, research papers, and meeting reports about HEC, synthesizing the information, and preparing a comprehensive guide that identifies the best approaches and methods to mitigating HEC and acts as the basis for planning and implementing HEC mitigation efforts. This document also effectively channels research to cover gaps in knowledge on HEC and its mitigation across Asia.

The document can be downloaded here:  https://www.fws.gov/international/pdf/Human-Elephant-Conflict-in-Asia-June2015.pdf

Elephant Foot Care Session

Since 2013 Asian Elephant Support has been collaborating and supporting training of staff in elephant camps managed by the Myanma Timber Enterprise (MTE) in Burma (now called Myanmar).  This includes supporting the training of veterinarians, veterinary assistants, camp managers, mahouts, and timber rangers in the camps, and includes topics such as elephant health and husbandry, field navigation with GPS and maps, recording and recordkeeping of data, and exchanges with staff from similar programs in other Asian countries.

To continually improve the management and health care of their captive elephants, MTE conducted a training workshop for veterinarians, veterinary assistants, and mahouts from September 14 to 20, 2015. Invited presenters were Dr. Christopher Stremme, elephant veterinarian from Indonesia and elephant manager Heidi Riddle.  The workshop was facilitated by Dr. Zaw Min Oo, Assistant Manager, MTE Veterinary Services.

The workshop started on September 14 at the MTE training school in Taungoo, Bago region. During the first day lectures were given on differences between Asian and African elephants, captive elephant management in western facilities, training elephants for foot care, elephant foot anatomy and physiology, elephant foot problems and diseases, as well as treatment and prevention. Participants in the session included 18 veterinary assistants and 12 mahouts. From September 15-20 the session was continued in the Phokyar elephant camp close to the town of Taungoo.

During this time practical demonstrations using the camp elephants were given about training elephants for foot care and conducting foot care. From the second day on the participants were divided into 4 groups; two elephants with their mahouts were assigned to each group. The groups were supervised to start training their elephants and to conduct basic foot care procedures. Participants were extremely interested, enthusiastic, and participated very well in the practical activities. By the end of the session all the elephants used during the practical part were able to be handled for basic foot care, and the participants seemed to have gotten a good basic understanding of the principles of elephant foot care. Foot care tools donated earlier in the year by the Elephant Managers Association and by AES were given to all participants of the session and to mahouts from the Phokyar camp to enable them to continue this elephant care after the session ended.

In addition to the Phokyar elephant camp, two other camps (Myaing Hay Wun and Green Hill Valley) managing MTE elephants were visited. Captive elephant management and foot care topics were discussed via presentations and practical demonstrations. Foot care tools were also distributed to mahouts in these camps.

Further collaborations including training and knowledge exchange between elephant management programs and staff from Myanmar and other Asian elephant range countries (i.e. Sumatra-Indonesia) are planned for the future.

The Regional Captive Asian Elephant Working Group Meeting

The meeting was held at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University, June 11-12, 2015.  Asian Elephant Support was delighted to be able to fund Dr. Vanthinh Pham’s attendance at this meeting.  You may recall most recently AES, with the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation, sent Dr. Khajohnpat Boonprasert and two senior mahouts from The Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang, Thailand, to Vietnam to assist Dr. Pham in the treatment of the young wild bull, Jun, whose foot was badly damaged by a snare.  The mahouts also helped demonstrate to the Vietnam mahouts, who had little experience with wild elephants, how to help calm and better manage Jun for safe and effective medical care.

The meeting at the Chiang Mai University addressed establishing a comprehensive strategy and long-term plan for improving the management systems within elephant tourist camps across Southeast Asia.  Attendees also had the opportunity to share and learn from each other’s experiences and promote the best practices in elephant tourist camp management, and to build a network of captive Asian elephant experts who can work towards the goal of establishing and monitoring improved management systems in tourist camps.

Dr. Pham found the presentations that addressed setting up medical buildings with laboratories, health care, feeding and training for elephants, as well as mahout training most informative and was able to return to the Dak Lak Elephant Conservation Center in Vietnam with many useful ideas.

We at AES believe assisting those helping elephants develop friendships with others doing likewise is an important way to improve both the care the elephants receive as well as the knowledge and confidence so important for the veterinarian and mahout.  We couldn’t do this without you.  Thank you for your confidence and support!

CONSERVATION AND RESPONSE UNITS WAY KAMBAS, SUMATRA, INDONESIA

Prepared by Elena Pranatio and Dr. Christopher Stremme

The Conservation Response Units (CRU) in the Way Kambas National Park (WKNP), which are employing captive elephants and mahouts from the Way Kambas Elephant Conservation Center to conduct human elephant conflict management and habitat patrols, are hugely effective and contribute much to reducing human-elephant conflict (HEC) and securing the WKNP habitat.

The first two CRUs  were established with the construction of permanent basecamps in 2011 and 2013 on the northwestern border of the WKNP in the areas of Bungur and Tegal Yoso.  This is one of the HEC hotspots having caused ongoing loss of almost all crops close to the WKNP border; therefore leading to great resentment against the WKNP and wild elephants from local communities.

The two CRU base camps at Bungur and Tegal Yoso each have 5 captive elephants used for habitat patrols and, if needed, to drive off wild herds that  venture into farmland. During daily routine patrols the two units cover more than 15 km of WKNP border and a total of about 400km² of national park area. Regular staff of each CRU unit consists of 5 mahouts from the WKNP and 4 people from the local communities who are employed and trained as permanent staff of the CRU teams. Besides conducting patrols and wild elephant drives inside the national park, the CRU teams have also encouraged teams from local communities to build observation posts outside the WKNP on its border area and conduct regular night watches to detect wild elephants early and guard their valuable crops. The teams from the local communities have been trained in techniques of how to drive away wild elephants if they get close to the WKNP border and if needed,  get backed up by the experienced CRU teams with its elephants.

A communication system, via mobile phones, between the CRU teams and the local community teams has been established and functions as an early warning tool ensuring ongoing information exchange between the CRU and local communities about elephant migrations close to the WKNP border.  This allows for  the timely coordination for needed crop guarding and wild elephant drives.

Currently 11 villages in the Bungur – Tegal Yoso area benefit from and participate in this HEC mitigation strategy with the CRUs. As a result of this work, the occurrence of incidents where wild elephants actually succeeded to pass the WKNP border and reach farmland has been reduced by more than 70%. The actual loss of crops due to the early warning and quick intervention has been reduced by more than 90%.

Due to the massive decrease of loss of crops, and thus increased income, the local communities have become much more willing to withdraw from most illegal activities inside the WKNP such as logging, cultivation, poaching, and cattle grazing and have become willing to accept the CRU’s law enforcement role for the protection of the WKNP area as undisturbed habitat for wild elephants. This has led to a reduction of such illegal activities by more than 90% in the Bungur-Tegal Yoso area.

Due to the success of the Bungur and Tegal-Yoso CRUs, in 2014 the head of the National Park has asked donors such as IEF, AES, and USFWS, who have supported the establishment and operation of the CRUs, for support to establish a new third CRU at the southwestern border of the WKNP, which is another HEC hotspot. IEF, USFWS, and AES agreed to support the establishment of this new CRU and in November 2014 the construction of the new basecamp in the Margahayu region was started. In January 2015 the CRU team were based at the camp while still under construction. The initial team consisted of 5 captive elephants and 5 mahouts from the WKNP Elephant Conservation Center. Shortly after the team arrived 4 young local people from nearby communities were employed and started to be trained as CRU team members. Training for such new team members consists of:

• Captive elephant management and care
• Habitat navigation by using basic orientation points in the area, maps, and GPS
• Wild elephant behavior, approach and driving strategies
• Conservation laws and regulations

Initial staff training and camp construction were completed in April 2015 and the new CRU is fully operational. During its daily routine patrols a border area of about 10km is covered. During the past months the CRU team has constantly monitored the movement of wild elephant herds close to the WKNP border. Already several situations have been encountered by the team where a large herd of more than 30 animals intended to cross the NP border to venture into villages and farmland. The team has managed these incidents by driving the elephants away from the border back into the forest area of the WKNP. Such drive operations often last for several days because during the drive, the wild elephants initially retreat in the nearby forest, but during the next night they try to enter into the farmland again. This means the CRU team has to stand by on guard for several days until the wild herds finally give up and retreat back deeper into the WKNP forest area.

The people from local communities start to respond positively to the presence and activities of the new CRU as major crop raiding events by wild elephants have been prevented since the CRU has become active.  The team has started to approach the people from the local communities to start building joint crop guarding and HEC mitigation strategies like in Bungur and Tegal-Yoso. The CRU team has already encouraged and supported the first community members for the construction of two observation posts outside the WKNP directly on its border with farmland. These posts are now already used for crop guarding during the night time by local community members.

The CRUs have become a very successful and important part of the WKNP habitat protection and HEC mitigation strategy. The successful implementation of the day to day field work is ensured by teams of highly motivated and skilled staff from the national park in close collaboration with local communities.

A major obstacle is that the WKNP agency itself does not have sufficient resources to fully finance the ongoing operation of CRUs. Therefor the continuation and possible expansion of the successful CRU work relies much on external funding support.

7th Indonesian Mahout Workshop

A wonderful group photo of all workshop participants, until next year!

The 7th Indonesian Mahout Workshop hosted by FOKMAS (Indonesian Mahout Communication Forum) was held from February 24-27, 2015, at the Minas government elephant training center  located in the province of Riau in Sumatra, Indonesia. Seventy participants attended the workshop and represented most of the Sumatran government elephant camps, Conservation Response Units (CRUs), and other elephant patrol units in Sumatra, as well as several zoos and safari parks from Sumatra, Java, and Bali. The majority of participants were mahouts, but some camp managers and veterinarians from private facilities also attended.

The Indonesian Mahout Workshops were initiated in 2006 at the Seblat government elephant conservation center in Bengkulu province (Sumatra) to provide an opportunity for mahouts to share information, strengthen their professionalism, and influence elephant conservation in Indonesia more effectively.

Banner showing all the sponsors that helped make the workshop possible

Several NGOs, including the International Elephant Foundation, Asian Elephant Support, and the Elephant Managers Association, provided workshop support to assist this professional training opportunity for mahouts. General issues discussed during the workshop included problems mahouts encounter in their elephant work and habitat conservation efforts, finding solutions to improve the care and management of Indonesia’s wild and captive elephants, and means to create an information network with colleagues throughout Asia. FOKMAS and the Mahout Workshops are supported by Indonesian government conservation agencies

During the first two days of the workshop several presentations and an informal hands-on session were given by visiting colleagues from the Myanma Timber Enterprise (MTE). The group from Myanmar included 2 MTE elephant veterinarians, an MTE manager, and a senior mahout (Singaung) from an MTE timber camp.  The Indonesian mahouts were very attentive to the presentations from their Myanmar counterparts, and good discussions resulted from the interactions.  The participants from Myanmar were impressed with the level of interest from the Indonesian mahouts and expressed the intention to develop similar meeting and training opportunities for mahouts in Myanmar.  As you may remember, Asian Elephant Support has helped fund both veterinarian and mahout workshops in Myanmar.

In addition to presentations, training in field navigation using maps and GPS units was conducted during the Workshop. This training was divided into two parts: theoretical background and hands-on practice in locations within the Minas camp area. All mahouts were instructed about various skills to deal with wildlife monitoring and illegal activities such as data collection and recording, GPS instruction, human-wildlife conflict mitigation techniques, and community relations. Building capacity of the mahouts with skills for improved forest protection and wildlife conservation also promotes improved job performance of these individuals.  

The final part of the Mahout Workshop included discussion among the participants about improving elephant facilities and management in Indonesia, and a wrap up of the field navigation and GPS sessions.

Lecture time

These Mahout Workshops and interactions with fellow mahouts from around Asia are very important for the mahout staff across Indonesia.  There is a need to continue these regional professional exchanges and training as this has resulted in positive outcomes.  In Indonesia, the government has requested input from FOKMAS about mitigating elephant conflict.  FOKMAS is currently in the planning stages for the next Mahout Workshop and will continue hosting mahout training modules so this level of staff can be more effective participants in elephant conservation initiatives in Indonesia.

Asian Elephant Support appreciates the opportunity we have had to be a part of this educational effort thanks to the support of our donors.  So that we will be able to help fund future workshops, please consider making a donation.  Our thanks!