Elephants at Work

Uncle Bounlay smiles while standing alongside his elephant, Chanmy, by a pond in Nahai village.When I was about seven or eight years old, my grandfather used to tell me that the villagers had to be very careful not to be trampled over by elephants when they headed for the forest or were walking about in their farms. Indeed, there were many more of the huge animals at the time. Elephants and humans, after all, have lived together for a very long time. The bonds between them are likely to have come from the animals’ use as a means of transportation, and not least due to the fact that the majestic beasts fought alongside various kings in the olden days.

Indeed, Laos used to be called ‘Lan Xang’ or ‘The Land of A Million Elephants’, a name derived from the elephant population that at one point was believed to be between 200,000 and 300,000.

 “Elephants are a part of our lives and a part of the heritage passed on in a family. The elephants have always been here, even before I was born.  Our family survived and has been able to put food on the table because we had elephants,” recalled 70-year-old Uncle Bounlay, from Nahai village, Thongmixay district in Xayaboury province, which is located south of Laos near the border with Thailand’s Nan province.

His family used to own 10 elephants, Uncle Bounlay said. Today, it has two — Chanmy and her son, Noon. “Chanmy, now 40 years old, is my beloved elephant. I have a house and belongings because of her. In the past, I used to spend six to nine months in the forest doing logging work before returning home,” he continued. “Now I’m too old for that, and it’s time for me to pass these skills on to my son and grandchildren.  Noon is three years old now, and I have already started training him to work.  My son-in-law takes care of him. This elephant will be our family’s inheritance.”

But while Laos’ economic development in recent decades has made a key difference in people’s lives, it has also led to pressures such as deforestation and loss of habitat, which makes it difficult for animals like elephants to look for food sources that used to be abundant for them.  Likewise, more open trade relations and increased mobility across borders have helped make elephants, which are an endangered species, mere commercial goods. This boosts markets for the ‘services’ of elephants, which are used as labour for logging in places like Laos or as performers in tourist shows in neighbouring Thailand.

In Laos, elephants with tusks can cost between 70 and 230 million kip (8,197 to 26,934 U.S. dollars), and those without tusks would cost between 50 and 200 million kip (5,855 to 23,421 dollars). Their high value drives more people to want to own elephants.

Laos has between 600 and 1,000 wild elephants, and some 550 domesticated ones. Of these 550, the biggest number can be found in Xayaboury, 25 in Outhoumphone district, Champasak province and smaller numbers in Vientiane and Luang Prabang. In 2009, two elephants were reported to have been born and 10 died. An elephant has a lifespan of 50 to 60 years.

A typical scene of elephants at work in the Thai tourism industry. Thai and foreign tourists applaud after a show at the Maesa Elephant Camp in Chiang Mai.A typical scene of elephants at work in the Thai tourism industry. Thai and foreign tourists applaud after a show at the Maesa Elephant Camp in Chiang Mai. According Lao Elefant Asia, a Laos-based non-profit organisation that aims to protect Asian animals, Xayaboury has 443 domesticated elephants — the highest elephant population in Laos. They are mostly in Thongmixay district, about 200 kilometres from the centre of Xayaboury.  Most of the district residents make a living out of logging and use their elephants during such work. The fee for their services is 500 baht or 130,000 kip (15.22 dollars) per cubic metre of timber. On average, one elephant can earn around 200,000 to 300,000 baht (5,500 to 8,250 dollars) per year, depending on the amount of logs the animal transports.

But Thongmixay villagers have other concerns. They are quite worried about poachers coming and killing their elephants for their body parts. Already, two to three elephants are killed each year. From the start of 2008 to early 2009, there were two killings of the big beasts in Paklay and Phieng districts. After the elephants are killed, their carcasses are skinned, their nails removed and their tusks extracted to be made into medicine, leather products and religious items.

Rather than lose their animals this way, some residents say they prefer to sell their elephants.  “I’d feel more secure with a couple hundred thousand baht in my hands, rather than just letting the elephant live, not knowing when I’ll lose it,” said a villager. “That would mean no money and you see your own elephant dead in front of you.”

Chit, a 60-year-old resident of Thongphoon village, Thongmixay district, recounted an incident about a directive carried out by the local district administration about four to five years back, in which the mayor allowed the residents to freely sell elephants to some foundations or to neighbouring countries to use for tourism purposes. Because the value of elephants was high at the time, a total of 74 elephants were sold at 300,000 to 700,000 baht (8,250 to 19,250 dollars) each. As soon as they were sold, the elephants were registered under their new owners’ names.

When this matter was brought up to higher authorities, the mayor involved in the controversial directive was transferred to a different position and the sale of elephants was restricted. Instead, anyone caught selling them was to be fined an amount double the price at which the animals were sold. These days, no one really wants to sell elephants any more. They are used only for logging and are leased out within Laos and to foreign countries.

An elephant shows off its creativity at the Thai National Elephant Conservation Centre in the northern Thai province of Lampang.

An elephant shows off its creativity at the Thai National Elephant Conservation Centre in the northern Thai province of Lampang. Gnot Phimmathat, 25, of Namor village, Phieng district in Xayaboury, has been working as an elephant trainer in South Korea for more than two years. In South Korea, elephants are leased to work in the tourism business, playing soccer, painting or doing demonstrations of how they work in the logging industry. Gnot earns a salary of up to 600 dollars with a tax deduction of 50 dollars per month, an amount that is low by Korean standards but much more than what the average Lao worker makes.

But when the elephants are leased this way, their return to Laos can be uncertain because the lease contracts are usually open to unlimited extensions. Leasing is usually done through the government and direct purchase is carried out with the villagers. At present, South Korea reportedly needs more elephants from Laos because they are “well-behaved”. “In my company alone, there are 11 elephants,” Gnot said.

 “Laos will have no elephants by the year 2040 to 2050,” said Gilles Maurer, programme manager of Elefant Asia. One cannot help but feel sad at the thought that younger generations will not be able to witness such majestic animals that have been so much a part of Lao history.

At least 200 elephants have been registered under a system designed to prevent villagers from selling them. In the future, there are plans of having microchips implanted under the skin of elephants to help monitor their location and movements through satellite. Elephant owners will be asked to actively take part in this procedure.

But the long-term fate of the Lao elephant is far from certain. Lighter or more reasonable forms of labour, proper medical care, stricter laws on the selling of elephants and proper registration could all help the elephant survive. But clearly, raising public awareness and interest in the true value of elephants is important, as is knowing and understanding the villagers’ concerns and challenges about the animals they own. Conservation organisations should also come in with work on natural and scientific breeding.

OVER IN THAILAND

Just across the border, Thailand, like Laos, is also grappling with its elephant population. Conservation groups estimate the number of elephants in the country at 4,000, from 100,000 at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, some 3,000 of Thai elephants are domesticated. The biggest population of wild elephants, estimated at 1,000 to 1,500, is found in Khao Yai National Park and the Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary Park in the northern province of Uthai Thani.

Conservationists warn that the country’s elephants may well disappear in the next 14 years because of poaching and plummeting birthrates. This is not helped by the fact that Thailand’s forest cover has fallen to 15 percent.

As in Laos today, Thai elephants used to be a major part of the logging industry, until logging was banned in the country. Many of the domesticated elephants now work in Thailand’s huge tourism industry, be it in as part of football shows or shows depicting Thai history, or in revenue-earning schemes such as elephant rides in different parts of the country.  For instance, there are places like Maesa Elephant Camp in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, and the popular Thai Elephant Conservation Centre in Lampang province. Apart from being an information centre for the youth, the elephant center in Lampang is also an elephant hospital. It accepts and brings in lost elephants or those with no owners.  In early 2009, there were some 50 elephants under its care, and they join the different tourist shows to help the centre earn income. The elephants are also used for tourism services in places like Chonburi, Surin and other provinces.