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Jungle giants:Myanmar's kings of the wild

WHEN he invaded the kingdom of Ayuthaya in 16th century. King Bayinnaung was said to have been motivated by the prospect of rich booty. Not just any prize. however - four white elephants.

While this contains an element of truth. historians such as Michael Aung Thwin argue that this supposed motivation for Bayinnaung's invasion has probably been embellished to create a mad monarch narrative about Myanmar's kings.

Nevertheless. elephants - and the white. or albino. variety. in particular - do hold a special place in Myanmar culture. The white elephant - actually more of a pinky-brown colour - is believed to give its owner political legitimacy. so it's no surprise that monarchs have been particularly fond of them. However. the tradition has continued into modern times: When a white elephant was captured in northern Rakhine State in 2010. she was brought to Nay Pyi Taw amid much fanfare. Local media reports detailed how the elephant was unusually clever and was quickly tamed before being paraded through Nay Pyi Taw. Today it resides in a specially built enclosure beside Uppatasanti Pagoda.

Ordinary elephants carry significance as well. In Myanmar astrology. those born on Wednesday morning are represented by a tusked elephant. and those in the afternoon by a tusk-less elephant (with differing characteristics to match). Elephants also feature in Myanmar festivals; the Kyaukse elephant dance festival. held each year in the Mandalay Region town to mark the end of Buddhist Lent. includes a competition where dancers climb inside elaborately decorated elephant costumes and seek to impress the audience with their rapid movements.

Internationally. however. Myanmar's elephant population gets far less attention than that of neighbouring Thailand. where docile pachyderms are trained to perform tricks for tourists. Most of those watching probably have no idea that just across the border is the world's second-largest wild elephant population in Asia. after India. with 5000 individuals. Elephants are found throughout much of Myanmar's forested areas. particularly the Rakhine mountains and a broad swathe of northern Myanmar comprising Sagaing Region and Kachin State. Smaller populations can be found in Tanintharyi Region and the Bago mountains. A similar number. perhaps about 5000. are still work hauling timber through the country's mountainous forests.

Both wild and captive elephants face a number of threats. however. For working elephants. the scaling back of the country's logging industry. including a ban on raw timber exports that came into place in April 2014. could cause massive problems. Without employment. owners will no longer be able to afford to keep their animals. Unaccustomed to living in the wild. the survival of working elephants would be in doubt.

Wild elephants face significant threats as well. particularly due to poaching. encroachment and habitat loss due to expanding agriculture. As a result of the latter. there have been increasing reports of elephants coming into contact with human settlements in many areas of the country - often with deadly consequences.

A number of initiatives to protect the Asian elephant. which some have warned is heading toward extinction. are underway in Myanmar. In Tanintharyi Region. international NGO Flora & Fauna International (FFI) is working with the Forest Department and other local stakeholders to protect what remains of the dwindling lowland forest habitat. which is threatened by palm oil and rubber plantations. Land clearing for plantations has already led to human elephant conflicts in Myeik district. the group says. as elephants tend to keep to their migration routes even if the forest has disappeared.

A particular focus for FFI is the establishment of two new proposed national parks. Tanintharyi and Lenya.

"The designation of two the proposed new national parks would not only protect one of Myanmar's most important elephant ranges."said Frank Momberg. FFI program director in Myanmar. "but also other globally threatened species. such as tapir. tiger and leopards. and the colourful endemic bird of Myanmar's southernmost forests. the Gurney's pitta."

Near Kalaw. a project of a different kind is offering a brighter future to Myanmar's elephants. Green Hill Valley was set up in late 2011 by a local family as a home for two of their retired timber elephants. On the site of a former logging camp run by the state-owned Myanma Timber Enterprise (MTE). Green Hill Valley includes a number of other retired elephants given by MTE. The manager is a former MTE veterinarian. who runs it with his niece and her husband. who both previously worked in the tourism industry.

The day and overnight trips. which can be tailored depending on the amount of walking guests want to do. are receiving high ratings on websites like TripAdvisor. with some hailing the camp the highlight of their visit to the country.

Green Hill Valley is one of several places where visitors can get a glimpse of the lives of domesticated elephants. Of course. the easiest option is to drop into Yangon zoo. where there are a number of elephants that can be fed or sometimes even ridden. or Nay Pyi Taw's Safari Park.

But a number of camps are also open to guests. including one near Ngwe Saung in the Rakhine foothills. Another. Pho Kyar Elephant Camp. run by the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry and located about 30 kilometres south of Nay Pyi Taw. is undergoing renovation work and should reopen after October. It features a number of rustic bungalows. and visitors can see elephants bathing and maneuvering logs.

The more adventurous can take tours from Taungoo with Dr Chan Aye from Myanmar Beauty Guest House to see the MTE elephants work hauling logs in the dark teak forests.

Each morning. the oosie - elephant drivers. known elsewhere as mahouts -wake early and round up their elephants by listening for the sound of their leg chains in the darkness. They then trek off to the worksite. where a handful of trees have already been selected and felled. The teak is cut into logs weighing as much as 1000 kilograms each. with one end is tapered so it doesn't catch on the forest floor. Several holes are cut . so a chain can be looped and attached to the elephant's harness and then. with some coaxing from the oosie and his assistant the pet chate. the elephant drags the log.

It's not an easy task. even for an elephant. The 27-year-old male I saw when I visited in January 2009 was visibly struggling. dropping to its knees as the strength drains from its legs and letting slip low roars of exertion.

Finally. after 30 minutes. the teak log was laid to rest beside about 20 others. This is where elephants show their versatility; they are surprisingly agile and can easily manoeuvre the valuable timber with their trunk.

In a 2006 report. non-government organisation EleAid declared Myanmar's elephant handlers "without doubt... the best trained and most skilled in the world'.

The report also concluded that the government could "use extensive natural areas and an enlightened environmental policy to build a major ecotourism industry. The income from such a business could match or even surpass that of timber exports."

In a country where most ecotourism sites are in difficult-to-reach places - both in terms of infrastructure and government paperwork - the development of tourism focused on domesticated elephants offers a relatively straightforward avenue to vary Myanmar's tourism offerings. which remain focused on cultural sites.

This could significantly benefit local communities. have a transformative effect on the lives of the elephants themselves and generate more international recognition of their importance in Myanmar's culture and economy.

Author by Thomas Kean(AirMandalay Inflight Magazine)

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