Street Theatre Inspires Human-Elephant Coexistence

How do you reach a broad audience on a very difficult but important topic? In the southern part of India, near the Anamalai Wildlife Reserve, they are using street theatre to educate local community members of all ages on how to coexist with the elephants living nearby.

Community members of all ages gather to see & participate in street performances focused on Human-Elephant Coexistence

In March, 15 plays were performed for audiences in eight villages bordering on the reserve where human elephant conflict levels still remain at critical levels. In this part of India people and elephants constantly live in close proximity to each other, sometimes competing for the same resources. The professionally written and performed plays are designed to teach area inhabitants how to coexist peacefully with elephants by instructing them on elephant behavior, “do’s and don’ts” of elephant conflict and protecting oneself and family. Additionally, the plays provide new ways of teaching others in their community about the importance of elephants and elephant safety.

Street plays gather large crowds & teach about elephant behavior & how to peacefully coexist with elephants
 

In the state of Tamil Nadu, plays like these are quite popular and culturally relevant. It is hoped that through these performances, awareness can be brought to the possibility of human-elephant coexistence and attitudes towards elephants can be changed for the better!

Street plays such as this are a culturally relevant method to inform communities. They are professionally written & produced by experts dedicated to the protection of elephants & humans

Asian Elephant Support is delighted to have been able to support this creative and unique approach to conservation and we look forward to reporting more on this when programs for school children in the area take place later this year! Help ensure more information about how to safely coexist with elephants is brought to communities living in and around elephant habitat. Donate here.  

Dr. Mamatha Sathyanarayana, Mysore, India Visit to Denver EMA

Reflections on My Participation in the 40th Annual Elephant Managers Association Conference
October 7-11, 2019, Denver, CO 

By AES Grantee,
Dr. Mamatha Sathyanarayana, Mysore, India

Presentation Summary:  Fifteen minute presentation started with my self-introduction, continued with power point presentation about the AES supported Asian Elephant Conservation Education and Mahouts Empowering Programmes starting in 2014 till current date.
 
“Mahouts to Conserve Asian Elephants”
Mahouts play a critical role in elephant conservation programmes in India. Karnataka Forest Department in South India is recruiting mahouts because of the rising trend in Human-elephant conflict in various parts of Karnataka State.  In continuation to “Getting along with Elephant” teachers training workshops, a series of mahout’s interaction, briefing, and education programmes were carried out with the support of AES. Its objective was to understand the indigenous knowledge and skills related to elephant management by tribal mahouts who are now with Karnataka Forest Department and further empowering them to act as conservation educators. Sensitizing mahout project has its objective to teach the students living in the conflict area the ways to behave in the presence of problem elephants. This is to avoid injury or killing of elephants and also being injured.
 
After trying all mitigation measures which did not yield much success and with the existing increase in human population and the need for the natural resources, the only option left is to learn to live with elephants. To achieve this it is essential that we change the attitude of the people. Through mahouts, students can understand the forest ecosystem and problem elephant, which suggests Human-elephant co-existence to the extent possible for the safety of human and elephant. The methodology includes play way learning teaching activities through games, drama, songs, stories, debate, maps, history, politics, personalities, art and mock conferences. How students have increased their tolerance while they are in the vicinity of the problem elephants was climax of this project. Presentation concluded with gratitude expressed to the all supporters.
 
EMA conference: how did it influence me? This conference gave me insight to the conference theme; non elephant range countries people perspective and important research taking place in relation to EEHV.
 
For the first time I had an opportunity to witness so many presentations. For the first time I had the opportunity to talk to many elephant keepers and to learn of their various experiences.
 
This conference also provided an opportunity to showcase my work on the international platform, to those who are supporters of my programmes in India. This conference has given certain experience to share with my fellow educators and mahouts.
 
This conference has helped me to inculcate required skills in my events.This conference gave the recognition to the works am doing in my home state with selfless efforts.
 
Last but not the least….. I could understand how much tireless efforts are being put in by the Asian Elephant Support Directors team to support us.

Conclusions: Such conferences and visits gives more ideas to conduct better events in our home state programmes, enriches our knowledge , helps in expanding our network horizons , more than everything makes us more responsible and urges me to render more for the conservation of Asian Elephants.
My sincere heartfelt thanks to the Asian Elephant Support directors for all their encouragement, warmth, and continued support.

Catching up with Fulbright Scholar & Elephant Feces Analyst Chase LaDue

Extracts from his blog https://www.cladue.org/blog. Chase received some funding from AES to assist in his Fulbright Study in Sri Lanka. Chase has also attempted to expand his science communication efforts on Twitter, pre-scheduling tidbits from the field to be posted every weekday. Some of the material duplicates what is on his blog, but if you’re interested, you can follow him @ChaseLaDue.

Feb 25, 2019 extract

I’m writing this update from my hotel room in Kochi, India, where I’m attending the South-Central Asia Fulbright Research Conference over the next week... This past trip to elephant land was shorter than last time (in part because I had to make it over here to India), but it still found a way to be filled with highs and lows. The trip also brought with it challenging moments as the elephants continue to engage in crop-raiding just outside of the park boundaries. Our elephant sightings have been inconsistent: we had our lowest number of sightings on a day during this trip, with a single elephant spotted before he ran into an adjacent forest patch, but we also had a few days of sighting 40 or 50 elephants at a time. It can be difficult to stay motivated and engaged without the promise of seeing elephants, but the milestones we’ve reached help to quickly overcome these doubts. The last day of this trip marked our 40th day of fieldwork, with over 200 hours spent searching for and watching elephants. We passed our 200th elephant sighting, with now more than 50 male elephants catalogued in our database.

I’m proud of our progress on the project, but I’m always hoping to accomplish more. When I get back from India, we’ll have another trip or two to Wasgamuwa before switching field sites. It’s still the rainy season in elephant land, so most of the elephants haven’t moved on to our next parks (these areas are still heavily flooded, and there’s no reason for elephants to move away from plentiful food sources at Wasgamuwa).

Mar 6,2019 extract

At the end of this week, I will have been abroad for four months—only five months to go! This past week marked the first time I’ve left the island since arriving back in November, as the United States-India Educational Foundation (USIEF, the Indian equivalent to the US-Sri Lanka Fulbright Commission [US-SLFC]) hosted the South and Central Asia Fulbright Conference in Kochi, India…

The conference was a time for about 175 student and senior scholars to share the work that we’ve been conducting in the South and Central Asia region, including Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan…

…The conference was full of eye-opening, thought-provoking presentations from around the region. I learned about agriculture, public health, economic development, religion, and even entanglement theory…

At the podium sharing my work Photo: Sandarshi Gunawardena

… I was a part of [a session], a panel of Fulbrighters discussing the work in the realm of environmental science. I was one of only a couple ecologists at the conference, and so I thought that a talk about elephants in Sri Lanka may not draw attention. But of course, most people cannot resist photos of elephants, and so my talk was fairly well-attended. My presentation was sandwiched between talks about other environmental issues in the region, including in Kazakhstan, India, and Sri Lanka. None of the other panelists were studying wildlife persay, but the issues facing the environment are all intertwined…

Mar 19, 2019 extract

…With the transition from the wet to the dry season, the rains have also mostly subsided, although that hasn’t seemed to have an effect on the humidity levels.

The dryer heat alters the daily movement patterns of the elephants too. We’ve noticed that elephants are almost impossible to spot before 2:00pm now, even in the morning when it’s relatively cool. We think they’re spending the heat of the day under tree cover in the forest where we can’t see them. The vegetation is so thick that most times after moving just a few meters into the forest, we completely lose an elephant. (On a related note, we’ve also noticed that elephants seem much more wary of the vehicle and more apt to move into the forest when approach, a possible result of the recent crop-raiding that has occurred.) So as we’re driving through the park, I’m sure that there are tons of elephants (…literally) that we’re missing just a little bit off the road. We sometimes hear their trumpets and rumbles, but if we can’t see them, there’s not much we can do. Decreased elephant visibility at Wasgamuwa and lowering floodplains in other parts of the island are signs that it’s about time to move to another fieldsite and meet some new elephants. Hopefully we see some old “friends” too.

… Despite the wane in elephant activity around Wasgamuwa over the past month, there remains one fact in life: everyone poops. And in fact, even when it’s hot outside, elephants will poop, and that fact is evident as we drive around the park. In the areas that they frequent, elephant poop is ubiquitous, and it’s important for proper functioning of the ecosystem. Wild adult elephants are estimated to produce over 100 pounds of poop each day, and because they are rather poor at digesting their food, all of this dung returns vital nutrients back to their environment. Whole populations of insects and other invertebrates depend on elephant dung, including some species of the infamous dung beetles in Africa, who lay their eggs in the stuff.

… And this penchant for poop isn’t due just to it’s environmental importance, nor is it a result of all of the practical uses people have found for it (for those who are curious, you can use elephant dung to make paper products and generate energy, among other things). But it’s what scientists can do with elephant poop (and poop from other species, for that matter) that really sealed the deal for me. We can learn about an animal’s life from its poop, including its diet, genetic composition, microbiome, and other things. For our project, we’re interested in measuring hormones, the body’s chemical messengers that are important regulators of behavior, helping an animal cope with its environment. And yes, we can measure hormone metabolites in elephant poop (side note: we’re measuring the metabolites, not the hormones themselves, because like many other molecules in our body, hormones get broken down so that they don’t have longlasting effects)…

Look how happy our poop team is! Last week, we collected an unprecedented four samples in one day. From L to R: Sachintha, Dhanushka, Nimal (who may not be excited, but is instead questioning his life decisions that led him to hold a piece of elephant dung in his hand), and me.

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.

Funding for Mayapur Temple Elephants' Medical Care

Ms. Dasi with Laksmipriya 

AES is pleased to announce we were able to secure funding to Dr. Sarma for the continuing medical care of the Mayapur Temple elephants Laksmipriya and Bishnupriya under the care of Ms. Hrimati Dasi.  The two female elephants arrived to the temple separately some time ago.  Ms. Dasi employs three mahouts to care for the elephants as well as herself.  Dr. Sarma has taught her how to do some medical care as well as footwork, which is essential to elephant health.  

Ms. Dasi performing foot work on one of the girls

The two girls have been provided with a well rounded diet and are able to forage the area around the temple to graze which has brought them into healthy weights.  We look forward to more updates from Ms. Dasi and Dr. Sarma throughout the next year as he stops in for their routine check ups.  

Dr. Sarma, with a smile that only an elephant can give you.  

Dr. Sarma Update

Dr. Kushal Sarma, whom you may remember from previous elephant health clinics AES funded and the electrocuted bull elephant he got back on his feet has continued to be, in his words: ' badly busy'!

Dr. Sarma on far right directing a health clinic for mahouts and their charges

Recently, he had a call to come immediately to the neighboring state of Nagaland, where human-elephant conflict struck again.  A wild bull killed four villagers and the angry residents threatened to kill him if Dr. Sarma could not remove him.  Luckily, he was immobilized and relocated successfully.  Not too soon thereafter a stranded elephant washed down the Brahmaputra into Bangladesh and desperately needed the doctor's expertise to be returned to its home.  Dr. Sarma made the trip to help it out of its dire straits.  The flooding in the area has created a disastrous situation for wildlife and humans alike.   

2015 Sonepur Mela

Billboard advertising the Sonepur Mela

A GATHERING OF ELEPHANTS: The Sonepur Mela, Bihar, India
 

The Sonepur Mela, also known as the Harihar Kshetra Mela, is held every year during November-December and is Asia’s largest cattle fair.  The major attraction is the trading of livestock such as horses, bulls, buffaloes, camels, dogs, and birds.  Elephants are also a special attraction of the Mela.  

Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) has been conducting health camps for captive elephants in the town of Sonepur since 2001 and AES was able to help support the 2015 health care camp.  Attendance has been spiraling downward from 92 elephants in 2001 to only 14 in 2015, a decline of 84% in 14 years. This is mainly due to increasing regulations regarding the movement, sale, and trading of captive elephants.  

During the Mela, WTI will de-worm all the elephants, treat any minor wounds, and give the mahouts instructions on foot care.  Data is also collected each year to record the status of elephants participating in the Mela.  Responses from owners and mahouts showed that the average length of time a mahout cares for the same elephant is 4.18 years, which is not considered sufficient for good bonding between mahout and elephant.  However, all elephants were reported to be obedient and none of elephants had any history of killing or injuring a mahout.  Of the data collected, one was a temple elephant, four worked in the tourist industry, and six were unemployed.  All elephants had some sort of shelter at their area of residence, both day and night.  All except one was off tether for at least some portion of each day and the mahouts claimed all the elephants are walked during the day.  Only one elephant was kept in a group of more than one elephant, 11 have some opportunity to interact with other elephants, and three could not interact with other elephants.

Mahouts take measurements on a bull to estimate weight

While the results of the information gathered at the Mela leave us with at least as many questions as answers provided, it is important to track such statistics as we consider the current status and future of India’s magnificent Asian elephants.  If you would like to read more the report from the 2015 Sonepur Mela, please visit our website here.  Our thanks to YOU, our donors, for supporting these efforts.

Visit to Dr. Kushal and Elephant/Tiger Workshop in Kerala

February 1st-4th, 2016, Asian Elephant Support’s president, Linda Reifschneider, attended the Regional Asian Elephant and Tiger Veterinary Workshop at Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University in Pookode, Wayanad, Kerala, India.  This event was hosted by the Centre for Wildlife Studies, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, in collaboration with Parambikulam Tiger Conservation Foundation, Forest and Wildlife Department, Government of Kerala, and Asian Elephant Support.  The workshop is supported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Asian Elephant Conservation Fund.

All workshop participants

Veterinary expertise is crucial to conservation efforts, and this workshop provided the opportunity to share experiences regionally, provide practical training, build local and regional capacity in elephant and tiger veterinary care, and enhance veterinary expertise needed for effective conservation.

The workshop looked at wildlife health from the ecosystem perspective and afforded the opportunity to discuss topics such as disease spillover from humans and/or livestock to wildlife, emerging diseases and/or disease prevalence, as well as reducing stressors in the environment.

In addition to meeting and hearing from some experienced elephant veterinarians previously unknown to AES, it was also very interesting to listen to those veterinarians working with tigers in range countries. It makes one stop to think that this majestic creature is now facing yet another challenge as habitat loss brings domestic canines into proximity, offering up the very real threats of distemper and rabies.

Dr. Arun Zachariah, one of the veterinarians in India AES has funded, co-chaired this event with AES consultant Heidi Riddle.  In addition, Dr. Zachariah presented on emerging diseases in Asian elephants and a second presentation on post-mortem techniques in Asian elephants and tigers.  You may find the official report here:  https://gallery.mailchimp.com/6008a9e8fff086bcf7caed1f8/files/AES_Elephant_Tiger_Workshop_Kerala_2016.docx

Dr. Christopher Stremme presented on the work he is doing in Sumatra (work AES continues to help fund) and also participated with Dr. Dennis Schmitt in a demonstration of ultra-sonography in Asian elephants.  Dr. Khajohnpat Boonprasert (“Dr. Yeaw”) who has helped us help wildlife department veterinarians in Vietnam, recounted the work being done at The Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang, Thailand.  And Dr. Zaw Min Oo, who AES has worked with in Myanmar, also presented.

Dr. Meenakshi Nagendran, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services, discussed the global population status and conservation of programs for both Asian elephants and tigers and Sri. Ajay Desai, IUCN Asian Elephant Specialist Group, discussed human/wildlife conflict relative to Asian elephants and tigers and a second presentation on the ecology and evolution of Asian elephants.

The papers session ended with an evening showcasing amazing demonstrations of sand art, followed by a traditional fire dance.

The workshop ended with a planned field visit to the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, which has wild tigers, elephants, and other wildlife.  Dr. N. Kalaivanan led the field visit to the Mudumalai elephant camp, sharing camp management protocols with workshop participants from outside the area, as well as introducing us to camp staff and some of the camp elephants.  Dr. Kalaivanan also gave a presentation during the workshop on the chemical immobilization and translocation of Asian elephants.

Learning…..sharing…..networking…..  It is efforts such as this that grow long past ‘the event’.  Having not only another email address, but knowing the face and the expertise of that new contact to share ideas with and ask questions of – this is what helps move the care and conservation of Asian elephants – and tigers! – forward.  Your support well invested and for which we thank you most sincerely!

Mahout Workshops in India

In Southern India, in the state of Karnataka, a majority of the of the Forest Department camp mahouts have been working with elephants for generations, but are rarely exposed to current information about elephants and elephant management. Due mainly to human-elephant conflict, new elephants are arriving at the camps from various parts of the State.   

As a result, the Karnataka Forest Department is recruiting new mahouts and Kavadis (assistant mahouts) to care for the 122 elephants.  Elephants and mahouts benefit greatly from training and being giving an opportunity to share information.

Our partner and friend, S. Mamatha (pictured above on the left), saw an opportunity to improve the lives of the elephants and mahouts and organized mahout workshops on September 5th-7th at the Dubare, Balle, and Rampura elephant camps.

Utilizing presentations, discussions, and hands-on activities, the workshop addressed topics including challenges in the daily work with elephants, habitat conservation efforts, and captive elephant management.  A questionnaire was part of the registration process and provided a lot of valuable information needed to establish a future network of communication both locally and regionally.  

AES advisor, Heidi Riddle, was also on hand to share her knowledge of elephant care and management in other Asian countries and western facilities. 
 
The Forest Department staff and mahouts enjoyed the workshop, provided a lot of positive feedback, and expressed an interest in future programs. We thank YOU, our supporters, for helping us sponsor Mamatha's work and appreciate your continued support!

Elephant Health and Management in Asia

This past year in 2014 one of our advisors, Heidi Riddle, co-authored a paper about the importance of identifying health issues in Asian elephants as seen by their veterinarians.  It is important to understand how difficult it is to find data on captive Asian elephant management throughout their range countries.  That being said the authors of this paper delved into what could potentially help both mahouts and their elephants receive the best care.  When both mahout and elephant are able to access medical care, that is a mahout is healthy and can provide for his charge, both individuals will thrive.  Finding solutions to this little known problem will certainly allow for a future with elephants to flourish.  Follow the link below to read the paper:   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4320845/

2014 Sonepur Mela

Sonepur is a small town in the State of Bihar in eastern India.  Every year, in November or December, the town holds its annual Mela, a fair held at the confluence of the Ganges and Gandak rivers.  The Sonepur Mela is Asia’s largest cattle fair, the main attraction being the trading of livestock such as horses, bullocks, buffaloes, camels, dogs, and birds.  Elephants are also a special attraction at the Mela and some of the largest numbers are traded here.  

Since 2001, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) has offered an elephant health camp at the Mela, conducted in association with the Department of Environment and Forests, Bihar, and with financial support from various organizations.  In 2014, AES was pleased to support this effort.  The number of elephants being brought to the Mela reflects the overall diminishing number of Asian elephants.  Until the late 1980s, as many as 800-1,000 elephants would be brought to the Mela for trading and display. Since 2001, the number has been under 100 and the last five years the number has held steady around 40 elephants.  More stringent regulations on elephant ownership and transit may also contribute to this decline in attendance.

WTI deworms all elephants at the Mela and offers other medicines and treatments, such as foot care, as needed.  The average age of the mahouts in attendance was 40.89 including the eldest at 70 with around 50 years of experience and the youngest at 22 with already 10 years of experience.  All mahouts have handled more than one elephant in their career, with around 63% of them handling between 5 and 20 elephants.  On the average, elephants get a new mahout every three years; not a sufficient length of time for good bonding between the elephant and mahout per WTI.  The mahouts spend from 6 to 24 hours daily with their elephants, a good third of them spending the entire day with their elephant.  The Mela affords WTI the important opportunity to introduce mahouts and owners to western medicines and husbandry procedures. And the data collected is helpful in assessing and tracking the elephants that are changing ownership during this annual fair.

Elephants on the Line - Bhutan and India

Mamatha

Part of the AES mission statement is “to increase awareness and offer support for human-elephant coexistence to help protect the needs and future of the Asian elephants”.  Over the past couple of years, AES has supported Mamatha Sathyanarayana,  a high school Biology teacher from Mysore, India.   Along with her teaching responsibilities, she is also involved with wildlife conservation. She facilitates workshops about wildlife co-existence (elephants, in particular)  for the local village children.  In October 2014 we had the opportunity to support Mamatha to attend and facilitate educational workshops in Bhutan. The North East India and Bhutan border is home to a sizable population of Asian elephants.  Elephants on the Line (EoL) is an organization that is collaborating between Bhutan, India and US partners to address the major human-elephant conflict issues in this area.   In 2014 the focus of EoL is the Udalguri District of Assam, India, which has one of the highest HEC rates in all of Asia. The following is Mamatha’s account of the workshops:

Elephants on the Line Education Workshops

Bhutan and Assam, India, October 2014

Role playing exercise

Elephants on the Line (EoL) is a trans-boundary, community based project that has been initiated to help local communities in Northern Assam and Southern Bhutan deal with human elephant conflict by providing awareness activities and encouraging villagers to voluntarily participate in conservation activities. From October 3-5, a two-day education workshop was held at the Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan. The workshop was organized by the EoL project and was attended by about 20 staff from the Bhutan Forest Department, as well as some volunteers from the Assam EoL project.

During the workshop there were presentations about the status of elephants in Bhutan and in Assam, elephant behavior, causes of Human-Elephant conflict (HEC), and addressing conflict through coexistence.  I led the workshop components that specifically addressed coexistence and used various activities to share information and engage participants.  The activities included having participants develop short dramas, participate in a role play situation, and learning how to use energizers to refocus participants’ attention and teach. While at the Park all participants also enjoyed an evening session about elephant husbandry and care with the camp elephants that are used to patrol the park.

Workshop participants

From Oct 6-8, a second workshop was held in Orang National Park, Assam (India).  The area affected is Udalguri District; there have been many human casualties from HEC as well as some elephant casualties in this region. In this workshop all of the participants were local villagers who are directly affected by HEC.  The workshop started with presentations about the causes of HEC, as well as the use of maps and GPS units to identify elephant habitat.  We also presented a few activities related to coexistence and the participants were very engaged. 

AES would like to thank Mamatha for her hard work for Asian elephants in India.  We are proud to support local people that are so dedicated to saving this amazing species and finding ways for elephants and humans to co-exist. 

Elephant Day in Assam, India

Half-way around the world, Dr. Kushal Sarma also celebrated Elephant Day. He held the event at the Assam Agricultural University on September 21st.  The event had to be scheduled early due to school closures, but we don’t think the elephants minded, at least not the two that took part in this celebration, as they were treated to sugarcane, banana stems, and soaked gram (a popular legume found in many Indian dishes)!

The celebration started with a demonstration of elephant healthcare procedures followed by an exhibition of elephant literature, lectures, and a video.  The program started at 7 a.m. and lasted until 1:30 p.m. and included tea and snacks for the participants.  The four mahouts received Asian Elephant Support shirts (see the pictures) and the 35 participating veterinary students received a copy of Dr. Sarma’s book, Elephant Care, and a participation certificate.

Thank you, Dr. Sarma, for providing your students this extra learning opportunity!

Hope for Elephants in India!

Our collaborative campaign with Hope Elephants, “Partners for Pachyderms”, has come to an end and we are thrilled to say it was a success!  We surpassed our goal and raised $2105 for Dr. Kushal Sarma’s Elephant Healthcare and Emergency Response Program in Assam, India.  We are truly grateful to everyone that has made it possible for Dr. Sarma to continue his  amazing work for these elephants. 

Partnering for pachyderms

A Caring Collaboration for Asian Elephants

 Our story
Asian Elephant Support (AES) and Hope Elephants are working together to improve the lives of elephants living in the wild and in human care. 

Hope Elephants is a 501(c) 3 not-for-profit organization that is bringing a small number of retired or injured Asian elephants to Maine from circus herds for care and rehabilitation. Hope Elephants is also an educational destination where visitors, especially school-age children, have an opportunity to see, hear, and interact with the animals as a platform to present the big issues surrounding conservation, habitat destruction, and ecology.

Asian Elephant Support is also a 501(c) 3 not-for-profit organization that supports the care and conservation of elephants inAsian range countries.  AES’s mission is to:

•  Provide financial assistance and support for the health, welfare and conservation of elephants in Asian range countries.
• Provide educational opportunities and supplies to those who care for captive Asian elephants in range countries.
• Increase awareness and offer support for human-elephant coexistence to help protect the needs and future of the Asian elephant.

By combining efforts, resources, and expertise, we can accomplish more and make a greater impact for elephants in Asian range countries.

The impact
This project will directly benefit the wild and captive population of elephants in Assam, India.  Even though elephants play an important role in the culture and religion of India, there are relatively few individuals with elephant veterinary expertise.   Often the elephants live in remote locations and are difficult to reach, which makes responding to emergency situations more challenging. 

AES has been workingwith Dr. Kushal Sarma since 2011 to improve the lives of the elephants in Assam.  Because of his knowledge and willingness, Dr. Sarma is called to respond to health related elephant emergencies when needed.  As human-elephant conflict increases, so does the number of emergency situations.

What we need
The funds raised in this project will be used to support Dr. Sarma’s Elephant Healthcare and Welfare- Emergency Response Program in Assam, India. By being able to respond to emergency situations, the wild and captive elephants will receive the desperately needed veterinary care they deserve.

Our minimum ask is $2000 and any additional funds will be used to provide medicine and supplies for Dr. Sarma’s Elephant Health Care Clinics throughout Assam.

We will be sending out more information about this soon, but feel free to visit our website if you can't wait to learn more!

A Success Story: Wild Bull Saved from Electrocution

Every day there are more reports of human-elephant conflict (HEC) in Asia.  In the Paneri tea estate in the Udalguri district of Assam, India, there is a herd of approximately 200 elephants. The elephants’ natural habitat has been completely destroyed so they take refuge in the tea estates during the day and descend on the farmers’ paddy fields and orchards at sunset. On August 28, 2013, a young bull elephant (approximately 18 years old) was electrocuted by live wires that had been left on the ground in the tea estate.  In most cases of electrocution, the elephant dies, but luckily, this bull was still alive.  Dr. Kushal Sarma, our veterinary partner in Assam, was immediately notified of the incident. He was able to send local vets to the site to provide initial treatment until he could arrive. Once he arrived, Dr. Sarma administered additional medications, including IV fluids.

The future looked grim for this wild bull!

By the time the bull was beginning to show signs of improvement, approximately 2000 people had gathered around the elephant. Dr. Sarma had to remove the onlookers and bring in a back hoe to help get the bull to his feet.  At first, the bull stumbled a little, but quickly regained his balance and walked off to join a herd of elephants about 400 meters away.  Dr. Sarma said, “He stood and threw a rare glance of gratitude towards me and walked away towards the herd  . . .” Follow up reports from the tea estate manager state that the bull appears to be fine and is not showing any permanent effects from his close call.  

This case confirms the talent and dedication of Dr. Sarma, and AES is very pleased to be working with such an extraordinary individual.  Thank you Dr. Sarma for sharing this case history and thank you to our supporters for making it possible for AES to support dedicated people working to help elephants and their mahouts throughout Asia.

Elephant Health Clinics Update

With your support, Dr. Kushal Sarma continues to do amazing work for Asian elephants and the people who care for them in Assam, India.  Recently he conducted an elephant health care clinic in the Orang National Park and was able to treat 32 government forest camp elephants.  Orang National Park is located on the north bank of the Brahmaputra River and is home to many species including Indian rhinos, Bengal tigers, and Asian elephants.  The park is 78 square kilometers, but is encircled on three sides by people who are quickly encroaching on the land.  The human-elephant conflict is a growing problem in this area, so the elephants are utilized in anti-poaching patrols and to encourage the wild elephant population to stay within the safety of the park boundaries. 

This was a routine health care clinic and all the elephants were vaccinated against tetanus and hemorrhagic septicemia (an acute bacterial infection).  In addition, some routine stool examinations were conducted and the elephants were given de-worming medication.  All of the females and any bulls that appeared weak were given multi-vitamin and multi-mineral mixtures plus vitamin injections.

Dr. Sarma explaining a medical point to students

In addition to helping elephants, AES believes it is important to help the people who care for the elephants.  Most of the people at this clinic are poor and have very few resources to care for the elephants.  Dr. Sarma was able to distribute 40 uniform shirts and an additional 5 khukries (traditional knives).  The knives are used to trim the elephants’ feet and to cut fodder for the elephants, making them a valuable tool in improving the health of the elephants. The uniforms give the mahouts a sense of pride and ownership in the role they play conserving elephants in Assam. 

Mahouts in their new uniforms

A special surprise occurred during the clinic when a beautiful wild bull visited the camp out of curiosity!  Upon inquiring, we were happily advised that he has many girlfriends in the elephant camps in this area and most of the calves born to captive mothers are sired by him.  However, we don’t believe he stayed around for foot care or vaccinations!

Wild bull came to visit

Dr. Sarma also advised he organized an Elephant Day at his college on October 2nd and has this report:

 “As a part of the countrywide celebration of “Wild Life Week” in the first week of October, the 2nd October, 2013 was celebrated as “Elephant Day”  with the initiative of the Department of Surgery & Radiology, College of Veterinary Science, Khanapara with various day long programmes. The celebration started with life demonstration of elephant healthcare procedures to the fourth and fifth year
BVSc & A.H. as well as some post graduate students by the experts of the department which was followed by an exhibition of rare books on elephants. In the next half of the programme, power point presentations were made on various topics involving the elephantsby Dr(Ms) Munmun Sarma, Associate Professor, Department of Anatomy & Histology, Dr. G. Mahato, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, Dr. Bijoy Dutta, Associate Professor, Surgery & Radiology and Dr. Kushal Konwar Sarma, Professor & Head of the Department of Surgery & Radiology who is an internationally renownedexpert on elephants. Dr. R. N. Goswami, Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Science and Dr. A. Chakroborty, Director of Research (Vety) also addressed the students on the occasion.” 

Our supporters of the “Hoof knives for Mahouts-India” program will be pleased to know that the knives are being distributed carefully and are greatly appreciated.  Please watch for future updates from
Dr. Sarma and feel free to cheer for the beautiful wild bull! 

Hoof Knife Campaign Results

In October 2012, Asian Elephant Support (AES) and the Elephant Managers Association (EMA) joined forces to raise money to purchase local traditional knives (khukri) for mahouts (elephant keepers) in Assam, India.  These knives are an integral part of the mahouts' daily lives as they use them to cut fodder for elephants and trim the elephants' nails or pads.

AES and the EMA would like to sincerely thank everyone for their generous donations to the “Hoof Knives for Mahouts - India” project. This program raised $1,755.52 to purchase these local knives for mahouts to enable them to improve the care of their elephants. A special THANK YOU to the elephant staff and AAZK members at the Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, NY, who raised $720.52 for this project!    

Regardless of what job you are doing, everyone can appreciate having the right tools to get it done. This program is a great way to demonstrate that every donation, big or small, can make a difference for elephants and the people that care for them, in Asian range countries.

With your help we are making a difference! Stay tuned for more updates from the field on this project.

Dr. Sarma teaching mahouts how to use the khukri

Elephant Health Clinics in India

September 2013

With your support, Dr. Kushal Sarma continues to do amazing work for Asian elephants and the people who care for them in Assam, India.  Recently he conducted an elephant health care clinic in the Orang National Park and was able to treat 32 government forest camp elephants.  Orang National Park is located on the north bank of the Brahmaputra River and is home to many species including Indian rhinos, Bengal tigers, and Asian elephants.  The park is 78 square kilometers, but is encircled on three sides by people who are quickly encroaching on the land.  The human-elephant conflict is a growing problem in this area, so the elephants are utilized in anti-poaching patrols and to encourage the wild elephant population to stay within the safety of the park boundaries.

Dr. Sarma explaining medical points to the students.

This was a routine health care clinic and all the elephants were vaccinated against tetanus and hemorrhagic septicemia (an acute bacterial infection).  In addition, some routine stool examinations were conducted and the elephants were given de-worming medication.  All of the females and any bulls that appeared weak were given multi-vitamin and multi-mineral mixtures plus vitamin injections.

Mahouts with their new uniforms

In addition to helping elephants, AES believes it is important to help the people who care for the elephants.  Most of the people at this clinic are poor and have very few resources to care for the elephants.  Dr. Sarma was able to distribute 40 uniform shirts and an additional 5 khukries (traditional knives).  The knives are used to trim the elephants’ feet and to cut fodder for the elephants, making them a valuable tool in improving the health of the elephants. The uniforms give the mahouts a sense of pride and ownership in the role they play conserving elephants in Assam.
 
A special surprise occurred during the clinic when a beautiful wild bull visited the camp out of curiosity!  Upon inquiring, we were happily advised that he has many girlfriends in the elephant camps in this area and most of the calves born to captive mothers are sired by him.  However, we don’t believe he stayed around for foot care or vaccinations!

The visiting wild bull

Dr. Sarma also advised he organized an Elephant Day at his college on October 2nd and has this report:

“As a part of the countrywide celebration of “Wild Life Week” in the first week of October, the 2nd October, 2013 was celebrated as “Elephant Day”  with the initiative of the Department of Surgery & Radiology, College of Veterinary Science, Khanapara with various day long programmes. The celebration started with life demonstration of elephant healthcare procedures to the fourth and fifth year BVSc & A.H. as well as some post graduate students by the experts of the department which was followed by an exhibition of rare books on elephants. In the next half of the programme, power point presentations were made on various topics involving the elephants  by Dr(Ms) Munmun Sarma, Associate Professor, Department of Anatomy & Histology, Dr. G. Mahato, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, Dr. Bijoy Dutta, Associate Professor, Surgery & Radiology and Dr. Kushal Konwar Sarma, Professor & Head of the Department of Surgery & Radiology who is an internationally renowned  expert on elephants. Dr. R. N. Goswami, Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Science and Dr. A. Chakroborty, Director of Research (Vety) also addressed the students on the occasion.”

Our supporters of the “Hoof knives for Mahouts-India” program will be pleased to know that the knives are being distributed carefully and are greatly appreciated.  Please watch for future updates from
Dr. Sarma and feel free to cheer for the beautiful wild bull!

April 2013

Dr. Sarma advised he has conducted seven elephant health clinic sessions January through April for mahouts on elephant foot care. The clinic included sessions on using the khukri. which is the traditional knife that a mahout uses to care for his elephant's feet and to cut fodder for the elephant. So far, Dr. Sarama has distributed 52 of these knives and trained more than 52 mahouts, some already owning proper knives.

In addition, Dr. Sarma advised he has conducted a follow-up program for the temple elephants of Ahmedabad (initial vet workshop held in 2011) using AES financial support, and he has also attended to a circus elephant with a fracture in Anand, Gujarat.

December 2012, Goalpara

Dr. Sarma treated a young bull in Goalpara who was badly injured in a fight with other bulls. This was just one of many notifications we received during the year advising us of medical treatment of wild elephants.

March 2012, Kaziranga

At the Regional Asian Elephant Veterinary Workshop in March, Dr. Sarma advised that he had made an observational visit to Ahmedabad. While the health of the elephants appeared a bit better, another health clinic was warranted and was planned as soon as possible.  Dr. Sarma also discussed a second group of elephants he thought could use some assistance. This is a group of elephants he encountered while working on a rhino relocation project in Kaziranga. Dr. Sarma has already organized a veterinary visit at Kaziranga and will be returning to operate on an elephant with an abscess on its back.

Dr. Sarma (wearing a cap) and some of the workshop participants

AES will be kept updated on the work done at these clinics, as well as further opportunities for us to help these and other elephant populations. Many elephants reside in areas where their numbers are small and capable veterinarian assistance is not available. In addition, many of the mahouts caring for elephants in these locations lead a very difficult life. We are looking into ways we can also help the people that care for the elephants.

In addition to being a working veterinarian, Dr. Sarma is also a university professor. We feel privileged to have found a man of this talent and dedication to the welfare of Asian elephants. We appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with Dr. Sarma and we are grateful he is willing to put these extra clinics into his already very busy schedule.

Veterinary Workshop in Ahmedabad, India (2011)

In early 2011, we received an inquiry from a veterinarian from the state of Gujarat in Western India, who was faced with treating an extremely ill elephant. Gujarat is a semi-arid state and is not ideal habitat for elephants; however, there are approximately 30 temple elephants living in this area. Unfortunately, due to a lack of exposure and experience, the veterinarians in Gujarat do not have a lot of practical or theoretical knowledge of elephant healthcare and management.

Sadly, it was too late to save this gravely ill elephant, but during the process, we made inquiries among our advisers that resulted in our introduction to Dr. Kushal Konwar Sarma. Dr. Sarma is a professor at Assam Agricultural University in the College of Veterinary Science. His position within the Department of Surgery & Radiology provides opportunities to teach, to participate in research and field work, and to publish his work. Every year, he works with hundreds of captive elephants along with a significant number of wild elephants. Even with his busy schedule, he found time to help us when we contacted him.

Some of the workshop participants

From our conversations with Dr. Sarma, it was decided that a workshop on the basic skills applicable to elephant healthcare would be helpful for both the elephants and the veterinarians who are involved in providing healthcare to the elephants. On December 25, Dr. Sarma led a one-day workshop on elephant healthcare and managerial practices in the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, India. The workshop was held at the Jagannath Temple and was attended by 21 participants from 9 different cities. The lectures in the morning covered important topics such as the biology of elephants, techniques of drug administration, anesthesia protocols, commonly occurring diseases and their management, foot care, and musth management. After lunch, there were hands-on demonstrations of healthcare techniques including routine examinations, sites for injections, estimations of height and weight, and routine foot care. The day concluded with an open discussion where many questions were answered. The participants were very thankful for the opportunity and we are grateful that we could contribute to making the lives of these elephants a little better and the work of the veterinarians a little easier.

We thank Dr. Sarma for taking time out of his busy schedule to share his knowledge and we look forward to working with him in the future. We would also like to thank the veterinary medical firm, Intas Pharmaceuticals Ltd., for their help in making this workshop a reality.

Traditional Knives for Mahouts in India

The Elephant Managers Association (EMA) is an international non-profit organization of professional elephant handlers, administrators, veterinarians, researchers, and elephant enthusiasts.  The EMA is dedicated to the welfare of the world's elephants through conservation, husbandry, research, education and communication. As elephant managers, the members believe the elephants in our country are ambassadors for their wild counterparts. As elephant caretakers, they also believe the members are ambassadors for the people who care for elephants in range countries. At the time of this project, all of the AES directors were active members of the EMA and we encourage everyone who cares about elephants to become a member. Please visit www.elephantmanagers.com to learn  more about the Elephant Managers Association.

Bull carrying fodder

In Asia there are a significant number of captive elephants in communities with little resources to provide all the supplies for the mahouts to properly care for their elephants.

The EMA's Conservation Committee Sponsorship Program was designed to support their counterparts, the mahouts, in elephant range countries.  In 2009, the EMA initiated the "Hoof Knives for Mahouts" program which raised enough funds to provide approximately 200 hoof knives to mahouts in Sumatra-Indonesia.

Trimming feet with a traditional knife

Asian Elephant Support (AES) has been working with a veterinarian in northeastern India to help improve the care of the elephants in this area.  A local traditional knife (khukri) is an integral part of the mahouts' daily lives in this region as they use them to cut fodder for elephants and trim the elephants' nails or pads.  However, many mahouts cannot afford proper tools and use crude handmade knives to do foot work on their elephants. Regardless of what job you are doing, everyone can appreciate having the right tools to get it done.

With your help, AES and EMA collaborated in raising enough money to purchase 100 khukri for mahouts in Assam (northeastern India).

AES and the EMA would like to sincerely thank everyone for their generous donations to the "Hoof Knives for Mahouts - India" project. This program raised $1755.52 to purchase these local knives for mahouts to enable them to improve the care of their elephants. A special thank you to the elephant staff and AAZK members at the Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, NY, who raised $720.52 for this project!

Footwork discussion at Veterinary Workshop in India

This program is a great way to demonstrate that every donation, big or small, can make a difference for elephants and the people that care for them, in Asian range countries.

We are very pleased to report that the traditional knives are being distributed during veterinary visits to privately held elephants in Assam.