An elephantine way to mark an anniversary
A pachyderm caravan celebrates Luang Prabang and makes the case for elephant conservation
AFTER SPENDING 45 days travelling patiently through the jungle and local communities, the elephant caravan finally made its way into Luang Prabang to celebrate the historic capital and also raise awareness of elephant conservation issues in Laos.
Some 12 elephants, their mahouts and almost 40 officials had been travelling since October from the two districts of Paklai and Hongsa in Xayaboury before reaching Luang Prabang on December 6 to mark the 20th anniversary of the town’s World Heritage Site listing on |December 9.
The elephant caravan arrived Luang after walking 600 kilometres through the sun, rain and occasional cold weather to meet another eight elephants including a white pachyderm.
“The caravan is also promoting tourism in the northern provinces of Laos, especially Luang Prabang and Xayaboury, with a view to elephant conservation in the future,” explained a member of the Lao Elephant Conservation Centre in Xayaboury province, a non-profit initiative in support of the conservation of the Asian elephant.
It’s main objective is to raise public awareness, both in Laos and internationally, about the threats to the Asian elephant and to the rainforest, its natural environment.
The elephants marched across the length of Xayaboury province, an area known as the cradle of ‘Lao elephant culture’. The province shelters 75 per cent of the current national pachyderm population. The march symbolises a call for help from Lao elephants to the citizens and governing bodies of Laos.
The caravan was accompanied by theatrical and musical performers as well as educational staff, making it a kind of multi-cultural roadshow.
There were daily public performances to engage local residents and educate children about elephant conservation.
As the elephants made their way to Luang Prabang, an educational programme informed local communities about the history of these great beasts in Laos and the need to conserve them.
“Our travels with the elephants were exhausting and we encountered obstacles such as rain, cold weather and mosquitoes but we did well to reach our goal, thanks to the medical team, especially the veterinarians,” one of the mahouts, Long Sivilay said.
Even though it was a long journey, Long and the other mahouts were pleased to be a part of the Luang Prabang celebrations and hoped the caravan would help raise awareness of the importance of elephant conservation and the long history of the beasts’ connection to the Lao people.
Long became a member of the Lao Elephant Conservation Centre two years ago and since then has seen a change in the mahouts’ behaviour, including in his own family.
These days, he said, they take better care of their elephants. In the past, he said, the elephants were assigned to long hours of hard labour and as a consequence they did not reproduce, causing the population to decline.
Long said he was very happy to see children and villagers enjoying the elephants as well as asking questions about them.
Long now hopes that his sons will take care of the family’s four elephants because they can be a part of conservation efforts as well as attend festivals but says this can’t happen without the support of the centre.
“I see a bright future for elephants if villagers and especially children understand the importance of their presence in Laos,” said a performer with the Khaoniew troupe who joined the caravan to raise awareness of conservation in local communities.
