I
always love coming to Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary to be with these gentle
creatures. My first trip was with Tourism Malaysia Mega Familiarization group
back in 2007. Second was with my family a year later. In 2009, I came twice as
part of an Inspection trip with the Raffles Institution Singapore’s teachers.
My company brought about 500 Raffles Institution students to do some Corporate
Social Responsibility work. They painted murals on the walls of the Baby
Elephants’ Nursery – it is still there! I was there again in 2010, 2011 and the
most recent one is 30 January 2013. It seems like an annual pilgrimage to Kuala
Gandah Elephant Sanctuary for me to observe the transformation of this popular
tourist attraction among the local and foreign guests.
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| Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary |
Some
details of Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary; GPS coordinate: 3˚ 35’34.4”N and
102˚ 08’37.7”E;Address: Kuala Gandah, Lanchang, Pahang, Malaysia and Visiting
hours (It is closed on the 1st day of the Muslim festive ‘Hari Raya
Puasa’): Monday – Thursday from 12.00noon to 4.45pm, Friday from 2.45pm to
4.45pm and Saturday, Sunday and Public holidays from 10.00am to 4.45pm.
In 2007 -
2009, the Activity area was situated on the right, pass the Souvenir Shop with
a Shed for bathing the Baby elephants and feeding the Adult elephants. The Shed
can hold about 4 to 5 elephants at any one time. The Adult elephants came out
of the Holding area, just behind the Shed for their bath in the Tetris River
with their ‘Mahuot’ or Trainers. You can see that this Holding area is best
kept as a natural habitat for the elephants but surrounded by electric fence,
to prevent intruders from entering.
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| The Railing that leads the Adult elephants to the River |
Feeding time
is always a hive of activity as the guests rush to feed and take close-up photos
with the elephants which are securely chained at the knees. Next agenda is
anyone and everyone can ride on the bigger and older elephants. The Video
presentation was done in a small hall, inside the Office Building, that can
only sit about 25 people. You must take off your shoes before entering this
hall – don’t see the relevancy but a rule is a rule! Just outside this hall is
a relatively smaller Exhibition and Information center. There is no fee for all
these activities!
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| Ready for Hand feeding of the Adult elephants |
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| Hand feeding the Adult elephant |
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| Hand feeding the Adult elephant |
However in
2010, the Activity area was shifted to a bigger area on the left, pass the
Office building. It was more organized with Enclosure area for the Baby elephants,
Stage for performance and feeding the Adult elephants, a Platform for bathing
with the Adult elephants, 2 separate Platforms for riding the Adult and young elephants,
a special area to feed, touch and take photos with the Baby elephants and a few
wooden Gazebos for the weary guests.
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| Bathing the Baby elephant by a 'mahout' |
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| Infront of the Baby elephants' Enclosure |
The
second last trip was on a Sunday, 22 April 2011. Registration, video
presentation and exhibition area are located inside a brand new building at the
entrance. The Video presentation is done in an air-conditioned Mini Theatre
which can accommodate 120 guests. There are daily shows at 1.00pm, 1.30pm and
3.45pm with an extra show at 2pm on Friday. The Exhibition area explains the
characteristic of the elephants (its tail-less, memory, communication, emotion,
heavy drinker, big appetite, sturdy legs, rough but yet sensitive skin, trunks
and death) and translocation and capture of the wild elephants by the relevant
authorities. The parking area is spacious and tarred for the increasing number
of private cars, tour vans and coaches.
Each
guest is given a sticker. Red A sticker is for feeding and bathing with the
baby elephant. Yellow B sticker is for the afternoon session for feeding,
riding and bathing with the baby elephant with limit of 150 persons per day. A
special Green C sticker is for morning sessions of feeding and bathing with the
baby elephants for a group of minimum of 40 persons and above on a pre-arranged
basis. Conservation fee of any amount is encouraged for the upkeep and food for
the elephants.
At this
time, there were a good mix of locals, foreigners and school children. I
participated in all the activities except for bathing with the baby elephants.
Bathing with the Adult elephants is stopped due to an unfortunate incident with
a local guest. Feeding the baby elephants in their enclosures and the adult
elephants from a safe distance (all with sugar cane, water melon, cucumbers,
papayas and bananas provided by the authority) is a very noisy and squirmy affair
for the humans because they are very conscious of the elephant’s big and wet
mouth and its wiggly trunk.
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| Adult elephants from Holding area for Bathing time |
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| 'Mahout's bathing their respective Adult elephants |
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| After their Bath, the Adult elephants are led to the Holding area |
Nobody seems
to mind waiting in long line for the Elephant Ride activity. Only for the local
and foreign guest with the Yellow sticker! There are lots of anxious but
ecstatic faces among the riders with cheers from their supportive family and
friends. The whole episode adds a festive atmosphere to it!
However, on
my last trip on Thursday, 30 January 2013, this is the recommended itinerary by
the Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary authority ….
At 1.00pm
and 1.30pm with extra show at 2.00pm on Friday and 12.30pm on Saturday, Sunday
and Public Holidays
- Watch
a video show on the Translocation program of the wild elephants
- Educate
yourself with facts of the elephants and the origins of the Sanctuary
At 2.00pm
daily including Public Holidays and 2.45pm on Friday only
Proceed to
the Activity area for …
- Photo
session and feed the Baby elephants during their ‘lunch’ time
- Witness
the Adult elephants with their ‘Mahout’ being lead from the Holding area to the
river for their daily bath
- Introduction
of each Adult elephant and their ‘Mahout’; performance of their sleeping
position in the jungle and information of certain traits of the elephants
- Bathing,
scrubbing, splashing and photo sessions with the Baby elephants (which limits 4
guests to 1 Baby elephant each time with close supervision by the local
in-house guide) This activity is for a maximum 100 persons only per session
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| Lining up to bath with the Baby elephants |
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| Bathing with the Baby elephants |
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| Bathing with the Baby elephants |
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| Bathing with the Baby elephants |
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| Splashing with the Baby elephants |
By 3.30pm,
everything is over. Now, no more
Elephant Riding at the Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary as there was an issue about
this place being a Rehabilitation Center for injured, abandoned and orphaned wild
elephants before being released back to the wild, a Research Center into
elephant relocation and conservation and an Education Center aim at promoting public
awareness of the elephants’ plight in Malaysia. Suddenly the new Wildlife Act
2010 which forbids such a family fun activity is being highlighted and carried
out. In other words, Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary should stick to its
original mission. This once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience is taken away from
the visitors to Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary. No wonder when I post about my
30 January 2013 trip on the Facebook, there was a comment ‘Isn’t the place
closed to the public?’ Of course not, it is just an allegation by some tour
operators and online travel sites. The place is still open to the public but it
has just lost another ‘oomph’ factor (first being the Bathing with the Adult
elephant) for a normal tourist.
During this
last trip, I highlighted this point to my in-house guide Aman who told me that
the management is aware of this fact due to the obvious decreasing number of tourists
since the 1st September 2012 ban. They are in the midst of creating
some other activities for the visitors which are fun yet educational. I am glad
to hear that and hope to see you next year, I will be bringing my family this
time because I don’t want to watch the disheartening faces of my tourists.
I just came back from visiting there, for more info & pics - ( CLICK HERE )
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. There is always something new at the Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary.
ReplyDeleteGreat post I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this interesting and knowledgeable article.
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