I finally had a chance to interact with fellow Bangkokians who are passionate 
about the environment at the book launch of The Great Elephant Escape last night. The event seemed to be a joint effort of Bangkok’s Green Networking Days, Plant A Tree Today (PATT), the Elephant Nature Foundation in Chiang Mai (see also Elephant Nature Park), and the Bring the Elephant Home Foundation. Here’s some things that stuck in my mind.
“We’re fighting a losing battle.”
One person made it clear he did not understand why the mistreatment of a Thai national symbol, the elephant, is allowed. He’s a member of the Thai parliament and chair president of the Wild Elephant Research Fund, Mr. Kraisak Choonhaven set the tone for the night saying, “We’re fighting a losing battle.” He pointed to a number of things:
- No research or funding to study wild elephants
- Less than 2,000 wild elephants in Thailand and inbreeding is feared
- Presence of ‘taxi’ elephants or street-begging elephants walking city streets is greater than the number of wild elephants in their natural habitats
Later, the person probably most responsible for inspiring Antoinette van de Water to write The Great Elephant Escape captured everyone’s attention. She was introduced as ‘Lek’ a common nickname meaning smallest or youngest. Lek was not a model of ‘typical’ Thai beauty. She was small. She came from a poor hill tribe family (imagine the hill billy stigma, but worse). She did not own any land. She is as infamous to some as she is angelic to many. She was not even fluent in English. BUT her adamant determination and love of Asian elephants shatters all stereotypes and barriers. She founded the Elephant Nature Foundation and has been rescuing elephants and caring for them at her elephant sanctuary in Northern Thailand. Here are some things you may not know:
- DON’T feed elephants on the street! Elephants on the streets of Bangkok suffer from mental issues. They also suffer from many other ailments including: deafness, blindness, poor nutrition, shorter lives, kidney/digestion problems and death caused by diarrhea
- Buying elephant paintings supports a cycle of abuse and torture done to the elephant to train them to paint and other gimmicks which make them lucrative pets. SPREAD the word, STOP buying these products.
We also heard from Antoinette, the author of the book. She linked the exploitation of these animals to deforestation and began a dialogue with the audience reminding them that there are no easy answers. We still need more dialogue and more awareness about this issue. This is the goal of her fund raising efforts and new book which tells her personal experiences after deciding she would liberate two elephants.
While in Thailand remember to take time to appreciate these beautiful animals and support healthy interaction with elephants (not elephants playing soccer or other tricks).
The elephant IS a national treasure, play a role in preventing national tragedy. Visit the websites and continue to spread the word.
-Dwight Turner
Editor, In Search of Sanuk
OPD says:
1 April, 2009 at 5:25 am -
I love elephants, they are so freaking cute in a weird way. It is sad when you see people who try to train them go over board and beat them, it will make the elephants turn on humans and then they can get hurt.
Bring The Elephant Home - Boekpresentatie succesvol says:
2 April, 2009 at 9:56 pm -
[...] de presentatie schreef Chiang Mai Mail een recensie over The Great Elephant Escape en In Search for Sanuk een artikel over de [...]
Migration Mark says:
5 April, 2009 at 12:33 pm -
Interesting article, keep up the great research and work! Looking forward to more advice.
Bring The Elephant Home - Book launch successful says:
8 April, 2009 at 5:25 pm -
[...] the presentation, Chiang Mai Mail wrote a review on ‘The Great Elephant Escape’ and In Search for Sanuk wrote an article on the book [...]
Korat Expat says:
12 April, 2009 at 2:35 am -
It is really a shame that Thailand so relatively so little to protect the wildlife. Here in Korat I see a nunber of eliphants walking in the heat with its owners who try to make a few bucks of the foreigners and locals.
Bring The Elephant Home - งานแถลงข่าวเปิดตัวหนังสือของมูลนิธิ says:
17 April, 2009 at 6:32 pm -
[...] In search for Sanuk > http://www.insearchofsanuk.com/2009/03/eltragedy/ [...]
Bring The Elephant Home - Exitosa presentación del libro says:
21 May, 2009 at 4:02 pm -
[...] de la presentación, Chiang Mai Mail publicó una reseña de ‘The Great Elephant Escape’ y en In Search for Sanuk se publicó un artículo sobre la presentación del [...]
jeff says:
21 July, 2009 at 12:30 pm -
ive always been torn about supporting the manhots who bring elepants through town. i lived in roi et for a year and met many elephant handlers and elephants. what would happen to both if we stopped supporting them? the elephant is important to thailand. unfortunatly if its not seen people forget. i appreciate the sad side of elephants in bkk, but i wonder if there is not a place for the urban elephant in our society.
Dwight Turner says:
22 July, 2009 at 1:57 pm -
Thanks everyone for your comments. I’m sure there’s not much hope for an urban elephant when the cities we build can’t sustain people. We have a long journey ahead if this animal is to be saved. The great thing about the discussion is that they discussed how complex this problem is. We have to combine rebuilding natural habitats with offering alternatives and education to people. The problem is much bigger than enforcing laws to keep the elephants off the street. I believe this is the beginning of a discussion to create solutions. Please keep sharing these ideas.