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.  

Drought in Way Kambas

Enduring the dry season in Way Kambas National Park (WKNP), Indonesia, August 2016

The month of August brought with it increased temperatures, dried grassland, and big challenges for the WKNP Elephant Response Units (EURs).  The dry season gave rise to the illegal burning of alang-alang grasses and in this one month alone, the ERUs who call the park home reported 22 forest fires. These fires were believed to have been started by wildlife hunters to facilitate wild deer hunts mainly in the Bungur and Tegal Yoso, with the latter hit hardest.  

    Managing forest fires was not an anticipated task for the WKNP mahouts who have not been trained to fight fires.  Due to the unpredicted need and lack of budget for firefighting equipment the ERUs rose to the challenge and worked feverishly using tree branches to help extinguish the fire. Water was also used from their water bottles to saturate surrounding areas in order to prevent the fires from spreading. The Bungur ERU found one case where an area of 2 hectares of grassland had been destroyed by fires.  Tegal Yoso had the most prolific illegal burning within their patrol region reporting 21 cases.  In 10 instances the grasslands were burnt 2-3 days previous to patrols.  The remaining 11 cases the Tegal Yoso ERUs encountered were active fires which required immediate attention by mahouts to prevent further destruction of the park.

    The three ERUs assigned to the park, patrol a very large area that stretches over 125,261.3 hectares. On patrols they continually try to deter and prevent any illegal forest activities while monitoring and protecting wildlife.  An enormous thank you goes to the ERU teams who rose to the difficult challenges they faced and put their safety secondary to protecting the biome and the inhabitants of the WKNP.   Our donors also deserve many thanks for helping supporting the patrols the ERUs carryout.  In the case of emergency situations, such as the ones the Way Kambas encountered in August, every donation is crucial to the future of the wildlife and forest protected by the ERUs.

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.   

Way Kambas ERU Update

A busy February and March for Way Kambas ERU’s...

With our continued support, the Elephant Response Units (ERU’s) in Sumatra, Indonesia have had a busy February and March.  Their work not only helps to alleviate elephant-human conflict but also helps protect the Way Kambas National Park from illegal activities and ensure the survival of present Sumatran elephant populations.

The Bungur, Tegal Yoso, and Mraghayu ERU’s conduct regular monitoring patrols inside and along the National Park boarders.  During these two months, while on patrol the ERU’s removed and destroyed five wildlife snares inside the park as well as a bridge for logging camps. Six instances of illegal logging were also reported to the National Parks Department.  Multiple plots of illegal grass cutting for grazing were noted and one group of cattle was found with no sign of ownership.   Three dead elephants were found within park boarders which included an adult male, adult female, and one calf.

Mahout with disarmed snare

February was an active month for wild elephants in and around the park.  Elephant tracks are a good way of verifying elephant activity and were found over fifteen times during the two months inside the park.  Groups of elephants that were directly observed ranged in size from 5-30 elephants. A herd of 8 elephants with two female calves were observed in February by the Tegal Yoso ERU and once again the following month by the Bungur ERU.

The direct involvement of local community members with the ERUs is vital to ensuring the community has a shared sense of investment in and responsibility for the future of wild elephants. A huge thank you goes to the ERU teams, forest police, and the local communities who are coming together to help save the critically endangered Sumatran elephant. Thanks to all of our donors for helping make these patrols possible.

Reptile Workshop for Vet Students

Course participants

While Asian Elephant Support’s funding to Dr. Stremme focuses on elephant needs and issues, his work at the veterinary university in Aceh needs to address all wildlife that share the same ecosystem.  Recently, Dr. Stremme invited reptile expert, Dr. Sonja Luz, WRS Director for Research and Conservation, to lecture, provide practical demonstrations, and hands on training with his students.  These are the future veterinarians who will be responsible for the care and conservation of all of Sumatra’s wildlife and we wanted to share some of the workshop pictures with you.  

Safe reptile handling

Blood draw on Moniro Lizard

ERU Field Report

A herd of 15 Sumatran elephants including one calf observed by the ERU in November 2015

Way Kambas National Park (WKNP) is located at the southern tip of Sumatra on the eastern coast of Lampung province. It is one of the oldest reserves in Indonesia and occupies 1,300 sq km.  Home to the critically endangered Sumatran elephant and many other endangered species, WKNP is a treasure that needs to be protected.  

AES has had the opportunity to support the Conservation Response Units (CRU’s), also referred to as Elephant Response Units (ERU’s), over the last several years.  This includes recently donating funds to supply the CRU elephants with much needed food during an exceptionally long dry season. With the help of the communities surrounding the Park, these CRU’s teams do monthly patrols in the forest to monitor for illegal wildlife activity and to monitor wild elephant populations. They also educate the people in the communities on the importance of preserving the forests and help mitigate human-elephant conflicts.

We want to share with you a special look into the activities of the CRU’s in WKNP. Please visit here to see a monthly report outlining the activities.

And rest assured, your donations are making a difference for Asian elephants!