Elephant Conservation Centre

Hi All,

Our last three days have been spent at the incredible Elephant Conservation Centre (ECC) - absolute paradise for elephants and elephant lovers. Having regrettably been a part of irresponsible elephant tourism in the past, we were keen to support a centre that truly works for the well being of elephants. The fantastic conservation efforts of the ECC in Sayaboury met these expectations. They are a relatively new centre (opened in 2011) that takes rescued elephants from tourist camps and the logging industry and cares for them in the 520 hectares of forest they own in rural Laos. The long term aim of the ECC is to increase Lao’s wild elephant population from the 400 it has fallen to; they hope to release a herd of elephants into the wild of Nam Phouy National Park. To do this, they have several projects all working simultaneously which include: a breeding program, surveying and management of the national park, positive reinforcement training (for heath care), socialisation and enrichment activities. With work like this, they hope to remember Laos' status as 'The land of a million elephants'.

Trying to explain just how magical the whole experience was is impossible. In this post the photos will speak a thousand words...

Day 1:

We drove two hours to reach the ECC in its beautiful, tranquil setting. It was totally worth travelling to the elephant’s natural environment rather than the elephants being brought to an artificial environment closer to the city (which is unfortunately the case with many tourists parks in Laos). After being shown to our bamboo huts with verandas overlooking the elephant bathing pool, it was time to see our first elephants! 20 minutes of hiking through the forest and we arrived at the waters edge to see a mother and her beautiful baby who was born at the ECC through their breeding programme. Watching as the baby took milk from his mother was a very special experience. Baby loved splashing around in the water. Mum on the other hand didn’t fancy getting wet and just dipped in her trunk to get a few of the 200 litres of water she drinks a day!

A veterinary assistant showed us around the elephant hospital which offers care for both the elephants at the centre and those in neighbouring villages. He explained to us the signs of a healthy elephant and the importance of a balanced natural diet for their well being. Just as we were leaving the hospital, 6 of the centre’s 29 elephants were on their way to the lake to bathe and drink. They all got their toes wet; many used their trunks to squirt water over their back; and one even wallowed around in the water, ducking her whole head under.

Then we followed the elephants as their mahouts led them back into the forest for the night. Each elephant is assigned a mahout at the ECC - the only person who can ride them (bare back so as not to hurt them). They are the designated person who cares for the elephant and monitors their social behaviours. They work with biologists and vets at the centre to ensure the elephant is healthy and well cared for; only then with these basic needs fulfilled will the elephant be able to interact with others and breed successfully. These elephants were born in captivity so are used to human contact however the calves born here will have less interaction with the mahouts and will instead learn natural behaviours from the older elephants at the centre (who are now learning to be ‘elephants’ after years in solitary captivity with no social groups to learn from).

As we headed back, our guide led us through the extensive elephant food garden that is used to grow additional plants such as bananas and sugar cane to enrich the elephants diet. We then took kayaks out on the lake before watching the beautiful sunset with two beers and a white wine in hand (Ross thinks his photo would make a great Beer Lao advert)!

Day 2:

This was a day to remember! Our morning began by walking with a mahout through the forest to find his elephant. As the centre does not currently have a fence around its huge (recently expanded) perimeter, the elephants are tethered in the forest at night to prevent them wandering into the surrounding farms and villages. This initially alarmed us but as we learned that the elephants are positioned in a different area of forest each evening, carefully chosen for its variety of food, using a 50m long chain that is designed not to tighten as the elephant moves, we realised that while not a natural solution it is not a harmful experience for the elephant. It was interesting to learn that baby elephants do not need to be chained as they stay by their mother's side. We followed the elephant as she wandered through the jungle, munching on the foliage as she headed to the water for her morning bath and drink. Beth and Danielle were lucky to be among the few of us who got to touch her as she emerged from the water. Although Ross didn’t get to stroke her, it was pleasing to see that she wasn’t forced to stay for tourist’s pleasure; instead she decided to head back to the forest to continue eating rather than stick around for photos (who can blame her!)

We then watched as five elephants explored the socialisation area. This is one of the massive forested enclosures that the elephants are free to explore during the day. Much emphasis is put on the importance of socialisation and watching how the elephants react to each other. For in the wild, elephants are highly social animals who live in family groups yet the rescued elephants brought to the centre have often been reared in isolation and therefore have not developed adequate social skills. While these elephants won’t ever be released, it is important that they develop these necessary skills and learn to form bonds with others so that calves born in the centre will lean natural behaviours from their elders that will aid their survival upon release. We could have watched for hours as these majestic animals grazed for food, sprayed their backs with dust and trumpeted as they demolished trees on their migration through the forest.

That afternoon we again watched the elephants bathe and drink in the lake. Watching one female elephant duck her head under and flop into the cool water was absolutely adorable. Then as the rest of the elephants headed back to the forest for the evening, one stayed behind at the elephant hospital for veterinary treatment which we felt very privileged to watch. She was very patient and allowed the vet to flush her eyes with saline solution to treat the infection she had sustained, meanwhile she preoccupied herself by munching on banana grass and rice given to her by her mahout.

Day 3:

This morning began like yesterday in pure paradise - waking up and reading on our verandas with a view of the lake and jungle. We were all exceptionally excited to be spending our morning hiding food for young elephants to find in the enrichment zone. This meant cutting down two entire banana trees which we then carried uphill in huge sections to the enrichment zone. We all enjoyed chopping the tree trunk into elephant ‘bite size’ pieces with a huge machete (that the 7 year old boy in our group was encouraged to use too). We then spent an hour hiding the banana trees pieces and banana grass canes up trees, in tyres and under logs before watching two young elephants arrive to find them. Their inquisitiveness was incredible and an absolute joy to watch.

We had an amazing time at the ECC and would return in a heart beat. It was all made more special knowing how well cared for the elephants are and the ethical considerations of all the team. Below is the link to the ECC website if you would like to find out more about the work they are doing to increase the wild elephant population in Laos.

https://www.elephantconservationcenter.com/

Love R, D and B xxx