Elephant business

BANDARLAMPUNG: The Way Kambas elephant training center in central Lampung has begun to export elephant trainers.

Head of the Way Kambas National Park Natural Resources Conservation Center Suherty Reddy said here yesterday that two elephant trainers from the center were in South Africa taming wild elephants.

"They have successfully trained wild elephants in South Africa in just two weeks although they were given two months to do so," he said.

The two were assigned to domesticate wild elephants and train them to undertake simple tasks, he said as quoted by Antara.

As a result of this success, the Way Kambas elephant training center will send two more groups of trainers, consisting of 12-14 people, to work at Johannesburg zoo upon the return of the two trainers on June 26.

At the Way Kambas elephant training center, which is located at the 130,000 hectare Way Kambas National Park, 148 elephant trainers and 30 trainer elephants are currently taming 117 wild elephants.