Sumatran elephants trained to become tourist attraction
Sumatran elephants trained to become tourist attraction
By Bernard Estrade
WAY KAMBAS, Indonesia (AFP): More than 140 elephants stretch
as far as the eye can see along a bare hilltop amidst the scraggy
forests of this southern region of Sumatra island.
From time to time, raucous trumpeting resonates on top of the
continuous metallic jangling of heavy chains which hold the
tightly fettered legs of each pachyderm to a thick concrete post.
Way Kambas, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of the
provincial capital of Bandar Lampung, is the first and most
important of six centers set up in Sumatra since 1985 in a bid to
deal with the elephants, threatened by population growth and
increasing development.
Here, the elephants learn "to become productive," as the
official terminology states, and to become "actors in economic,
notably touristic, development."
They are taught a profession: some are to work in the forest,
carrying blocks of wood, while some will be trained to help
control the herd and even capture wild elephants.
Most, however, learn to play an elephantine form of soccer or
basketball and perform circus numbers to the delight of tourists
who crowd into Way Kambas on festival days and weekends.
Others are destined for zoos.
"It's that or the slaughter house," said an environmental
specialist, who requested anonymity, to explain why these so-
called "training centers for elephants" and the often brutal
methods needed to train the animals are not condemned more loudly
by environmentalists.
As in many other tropical countries confronted by the same
situation, notably in Africa, the origins of the problem are
simple.
In 1905, Lampung province had a population of only 150,000
compared with six millions today. Density rose from five
inhabitants per square kilometer to more than 180.
And while the island is known for producing spices and
sandalwood, Sumatra has developed and now also produces petroleum
and lumber, the two principal sources of hard currency for
Indonesia.
Indonesia had considered slaughtering the elephants. But,
after much debate, officials created natural reserves and
national parks to protect them.
But the protected zones are not sufficient for the growing
population of Sumatran elephants, estimated to be between three
and four thousand.
And, despite the protective measures, "cohabitation" between
elephant and human often doesn't go well. Farmers complain the
elephants regularly destroy their crops, and about a dozen people
are killed each year trying to protect their harvests.
The elephants are often poisoned, the traditional control
method by the local population. Twelve elephant carcasses were
found last month in a pit close to a plantation.
Those arrested for the crime were put in prison and face trial
in coming weeks.