Page 34 - BBC Wildlife Volume 36 #06

INNOVATIVE INVENTIONS

WARD OFF THE PINEAPPLE-
LOVING THIEVES AND HOW TO SEE

PROTECT FARMERS’ CROPS. THAI ELEPHANTS
ELEPHANTVALLEY
Half or full-day visits to see the
captive elephants, or volunteer
experiences available. Located
near Chiang Rai.
www.elephantvalleys.com

NATIONAL PARKS
KUI BURI NATIONAL PARK
Near Hua Hin, Khiri Khan province
Accommodation and transport:
Trekking and camping can be
arranged. Hides and viewing
platforms. Tours in safari vehicles.
What to see: Elephants, golden
jackals, gaurs, leopards, hornbills
and many other bird species.
KHAO YAI NATIONAL PARK
Nakhon Ratchasima province is a
2.5-hour drive from Bangkok.
Accommodation and transport:
On-site bungalows and camping.
Visit by hire car or safari vehicles.
What to see: Elephants,gibbons,
macaques and barking deer. Top to bottom: Kosin Sukhum/Getty; Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP/REX/Shutterstock; Abi Campbe l
TOUR OPERATORS
Audley Travel ofers tailor-made
trips to Thailand. A nine-day
itinerary costs from £2,785
(www.audleytravel.com/thailand).
– they like the sweet taste.” So there are raiding parties Naturetrek ofers a 10-day tour of
heading into farms like Tia’s on an almost nightly basis. Thailand that costs from £2,795
“When I hear them arriving, I run out of the house shouting (www.naturetrek.co.uk).
and waving,” she says, “and the elephants go away.”

ROYAL APPROVAL Clockwise their natural habitat and offering meals with local farming
This new tolerance comes about because the king of from top: wild communities as part of the experience. Families like Tia’s
elephants roam
Thailand, Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, are able to make extra money from hosting these dinners,
Kui Buri National
along with international agencies such as WWF, encourages Park – one of the and they work as safari drivers in the park. To Tia’s mind,
the employment of rangers to protect elephants, providing best places to see this more than compensates for the loss of a few pineapples.
valuable employment opportunities for local people. There them in the wild For now, only one of the six elephants at Elephant
is also an education programme for rural populations and in Thailand; sweet Valley is deemed to be suitable for release and, perhaps
pineapple crops
alternative techniques are used to ward off the resourceful surprisingly, this is old Ka Moon. When she arrived at the
are protected
pineapple-loving thieves. These include various ingenious from foraging sanctuary she had been written off as a lost cause. “She
tripwire early-warning systems to sound the alarm and alert elephants by bee was aggressive, acting crazy, very stressed and showing
farmers when elephants approach their crops. hives attached very little normal behaviour,” says Jack. Three months was
to trip wires.
The giant mammals are smart and learn fast though, so spent calming her down and de-stressing her, followed by
while walking into a cable attached to rattling tins may cause another three getting the other elephants to trust her. But,
them to flee initially, they soon realise it’s not a threat and amazingly, after a year she was behaving normally as part
ignore it. This has led to a cottage industry producing Heath of the group in the sanctuary.
Robinson-style inventions to scare off the raiders, which “Ka Moon is a fascinating animal who shows us the
include flashing lights, noisy firecrackers and even beehives. potential of even the most damaged captive elephant,”
Elephants are frightened of bees, so when a wire is tripped says Jack. “Even if, in the end, we decide we’re unable to
it jiggles a suspended hive, making the insects inside release her, she will lead the way for the next steps in our
buzz around, scaring the pachyderm away. Reward for the rehabilitation work.” That’s quite a legacy.
farmers is sweet, in the form of delicious honey.
Locals are also learning to tolerate the elephants as the RICHARD ECCLESTON is Art Editor of BBC
animals have encouraged an increase in ecotourism. Travel Wildlife. He visited Thailand and Elephant Valley
operators are bringing small tour groups to see elephants in courtesy of Audley Travel and EVA Air.
34 BBC Wildlife June 2018