Khao Yai elephant deaths no accident
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opi ... o-accident
Ploenpote Atthakor
COLUMNIST
The first time I visited Haew Narok Waterfall in Khao Yai national park was in August, 1992. The trip was not for leisure, but to cover the deaths of a herd of eight elephants which drowned after plunging from the top of the waterfall in this tourist destination and world heritage site.
The name of the waterfall translates as "the ravine of hell", which was a fitting description for the sight of the poor dead jumbos in 1992.
I was told that the hungry elephants had trekked to the picturesque spot in search of food, despite the high risk. The mothers and older elephants were experienced enough to negotiate the steep and dangerous spot, but not so the younger members of the herd. If one of the young calves got into difficulty and lost its balance in the rugged terrain, the bigger jumbos would try to haul it back onto its feet. Failure would mean the whole herd died in one plunge.
"Elephants are known to be social animals. They always help one another when any of them gets into trouble," a conservationist told me. But that compassionate impulse can result in death, as the lifeless bodies before my eyes proved.
Fast forward to earlier this month, when the country experienced a tragic sense of deja vu as six elephants were found dead at exactly the same spot.
As park officials attempted to retrieve the six carcasses, they received a further terrible shock. Another five elephants' bodies were found in the river. It's believed they were from the same herd that roamed the national park.
Kemthong Morat, a staunch forest conservationist in the Northeast, echoed the statement that elephants will never abandon calves in trouble. Instead they will do all they can to help the babies of the herd reach safety. But an unsuccessful bid can mean death for all, just as happened in 1992.
The conservationist, who once held annual elephant conservation awareness campaigns in Khao Yai National Park, challenged a theory held by park officials and Varawut Silpa-archa, minister of natural resources and the environment, that the fatal plunge was simply an accident. This explanation implies the deaths were something that "could not be prevented". Mr Kemthong disagrees.
He argues instead that the loss of pachyderms was a matter of mismanagement and the park's poor decision to prioritise tourism over elephant conservation. Some tourist facilities, including accommodation, parking lots and souvenir shops, have been built on what was once the elephants' safe trail through the forest. Such misplacement forced them to switch direction to the more dangerous Haew Narok, and on Oct 5 they finally ran out of luck.
The park management had set up barriers to prevent elephants taking the route, but the structures had become dilapidated and the pachyderms simply broke through.
The only solution in Mr Kemthong's view is to relocate the tourist infrastructure and return the trail to the elephants.
The 52-year-old conservationist said elephants were dying every year at this spot, but the small number meant the fatal incidents didn't make news headlines. "About 30 elephants have plunged to their death here since 1992," he said, adding that none should have been lost. That could be achieved if the original trails are returned to the wild animals.
Mr Kemthong is staging a hunger strike to gain public attention and also pressure policymakers like Mr Varawut to take action, in the hope that elephants can be saved the deadly dangers of the Khao Yai trail.
The conservationist began refusing food on Oct 11 and has limited his hunger strike to to 11 days, in a symbolic action over the 11 elephants who died on Oct 5. For the first half of the strike, he will still take some liquids. But he promised that nothing will pass his lips during the latter half.
The conservationist is desperately hoping that his act will stir the conscience of policymakers into taking better take care of the country's elephants.
"It's one life for the safety of all elephants," he insisted. He has vowed not to abandon the hunger strike until the minister and the park management take up his proposal and return the original trails to the elephants.
After witnessing the fatal plunges in 1992 and Oct 5 this year, Mr Kemthong said it was time to take action to prevent any future losses.
It is well within the authority of Mr Varawut and the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry to revise land management for the sake of the animals that are a symbol of this nation. In Mr Kemthong's words, we need a "Khao Yai elephant conservation plan".
Now halfway through his 11-day strike, the conservationist's message has still not received a response from the minister and other policymakers. So far there have been no changes in the park management and all tourist infrastructure will remain in the same location, at the expense of the wild pachyderms. This is unfortunate.
At this stage, it remains uncertain whether relocation of tourist facilities is the solution that will prevent more jumbos dying unnecessary deaths. But both sides, the conservationist and the park management, should establish a dialogue and work together. That would be a tiny, yet important, step towards better protection of the country's elephants.
- Cement barriers with an elephant statue were erected in 1992 to prevent jumbos from taking a dangerous Haew Narok route in Khao Yai National Park. Pattanapong Hirunard
- phpVtFUbiPM.jpg (62.44 KiB) Viewed 411 times
Ploenpote Atthakor is editorial pages editor, Bangkok Post.
The story seems to say it was caused or contributed to during herding activities by park officials.
