A trip to the heart of the giants-Part 1

We went to Kuala Gandah in Pahang for outing during the holiday. Kuala Gandah houses the Elephant Conservation Centre and there are altogether 15 elephants in the centre.

The activity in the centre started with a 15 minutes video on the work done by the PERHILITAN on relocation of elephants and thus the setting up of the conservation centre to house some of the orphans and problemed elephants.

Personally, i find the video quite depressing because the relocation work involves traquilizing the elephants, dragging with heavy chains which is really unavoidable to ensure the translocation work is running smooth. I could not help but to feel sorry for them to have to leave their family and home.




The elephants are released into a electrically fenced area to give them more space to roam and play in.


Around 2pm everyday, the elephants will be led out by their trainers out to the field and into the river for a bath.



From here, one can see how much the trainer is bonded to the elephant that they trained. The trainer bath and scrub the elephants in the river and at the same time the elephants helped to bath the trainers too.


After the bath, it is the feeding time!!! Which I believe will be the happiest time for the elephants. They were given banana trunks as food. The elephants will smash the banana trunks with their feet and then eat.





Note the baby elephant's hind legs in the bottom picture.....They were crossed!!!!....what a relaxing way to enjoy your meal!! cute~~


The highlight of the day was when I met Mawar. An eight year old female elephant which is so very cute and friendly. It is so adorable that I have feel affectionate towards her in almost an instant...

Elephants are just magnificent creatures. They have the most beautiful and brightest eyes. They are just so gentle and loving beings if not being provoke (for they have been in captivity for a long time). Wild elephants are still dangerous though.


Us human has always been so selfish and too indulged in the greediness that we always forgot that we share the earth with other living beings that have the same right to live as us. And this is slowly carving out the path of destruction for the earth that we are living in.

The day in Kuala Gandah has enlighten me a lot. Part 2 will be on Isnin the Gaur at Jenderak.