February 13, 2013

Dear Supporter,

If the remainder of the year is anything like the start, this year will prove to be busy andfruitful.

I was honored to be interviewed by National Geographic’s NewsWatch blog about the lives ofcaptive elephants in Asia.

Then, on January 10th, after three weeks of construction and anticipation, the first chain­free hattisar (elephant stable) in Nepal became a reality. This facility encompasses open landand forest and is the first of its kind in Asia.

Five interconnected solar powered electric fence corrals were created to accommodate six

Man Kali and her kids, HemGaj and Prakriti Kali

Prakriti Kali looking afterher baby brother while hesleeps

captive held elephants ­­ four adults, one juvenile and a seven­month­old.

Healthy behavior

The related family of Man Kali andher calves ­­ Prakriti Kali, hereight­year­old daughter, and HemGaj, her seven­month­old son –have been reunited and share twointerconnected corrals, whichgives them ample space to forage,explore and socialize.

As result of this reunion, PrakritiKali has ceased her obsessive headbobbing and now exhibits healthybehavior as she interacts with herenvironment and family.

She surprised the mahouts by showing the most appropriate and loving reaction to her babybrother. We could not have asked for more. From the moment he stepped foot into hercorral, Prakriti Kali treated Hem Gaj with kind and gentle attention. Their affection for eachother is mutual and a joy to watch. Man Kali now gets a mommy break as Prajriti Kali takeson the natural role of official baby sitter.

For the first few days Hem Gaj appeared to behemmed in, with Mom and sister protectivelyshadowing almost his every move. Now theyhave relaxed their protective circle and Hem Gajshadows his sister as they explore the corral,digging up root plants, dusting and just stayingactive, Mom often watching from a distance.

Hem Gaj continues to make everyone beamwith pride. His mahout Shree uses only positivereinforcement training and the results speak forthemselves. Hem Gaj is only seven months old but he voluntarily responds to a variety ofcommands, including come, move forward, back up, turn to the side, stretch out on your

tummy, lie on your side, lie on your other side, put your trunk on your head and, mostrecently, pick up the stick and a small swatch of burlap bag and hold it to your forehead. Allthis for a small piece of tangerine and the fun of it!

Everything Shree teaches Hem has significance for hisfuture as a forest patrol elephant. Watching theenthusiasm they share is a gift. Knowing that Hem Gajand Shree are paving a new way for Nepal’s captive bornbabies gives me a sense of peace. Change is happening,and mahouts like Shree are leading the way.

Freedom for the first time in decades

Left: The elephants chained under their shelter prior to the hattisar going chain­free. Right:The hattisar after renovation

I learn something new every day in Nepal. Today I laughed when I was told that Male Kali’sname is actually Mel Kali. It‘s a long story which I will share at a future date but, for now,just know that when I talk about Mel Kali, I am referring to that spunky senior citizen wehave all come to love.

The adult elephants at the hattisar are Mel Kali, ourpampered retired pachyderm, aka Male Kali; Man Kali,mother of the two youngsters; and Kirti Kali and JunKali, elephants who put in the most hours performingwhat the mahouts refer to as “duty.”

Jun and Kirti Kali are both past their prime. Like othercaptive held elephants, they have spent their entire life

Pachhua (mahout) Thagu Gurungand Jun Kali returning from a dayof anti­poaching patrol. She iscarrying fresh­cut grass and a logfor the community fire.

in captivity in service to humans. Both, along with theirmahouts, put in long hours, from sun up to sun down,providing transport for tourist safaris, researchersstudying tigers and rhinos and the daily anti­poachingforest patrol.

Back in their chain­free yards: Jun Kali (left) and Kirti Kali (right) are perfectly camouflaged

Jun Kali’s corral is at the far end of the facility. From the moment her chains were removedshe has not spent a moment under the shelter, where she had been kept for decades. Hertime is spent leisurely cruising around her corral, browsing, dusting and relaxing. She is thepicture of peace as the sun sets in the background.

The other evening she began chirping and playing and digging in the soft dirt while facing inthe direction of the other elephants. Her antics got everyone’s attention. What was mostamazing to me was the fact that, according to her mahouts, Jun Kali had never been seenplaying before. Not all the mahouts (third level elephant caretaker/driver), pachhuas (mid­level caretaker/driver) and phanits (top level­most senior caretaker/driver) were amused byJun Kali’s antics.

Man Kali, Hem Gaj and PrakritiKali respond to Jun Kali’s playbehavior

When Jun Kali began playing, the family­­Man Kali, HemGaj and Prakriti Kali­­became quite animated. Theysprinted the fence line with Hem Gaj running betweenhis mom and sister. Kirti and Mel Kali­­­who occupycorrals between the family and Jun Kali­­­joined in thevocalizations Jun initiated. It was a joy to watch theminteracting with each other in such a healthy way.

But it was heartbreaking to learn that Jun Kali’sexpression of happiness was viewed in a negative wayby her phanit. He felt her happiness would result in aloss of control over her and would like to put her back on chains.

Luckily for Jun Kali, her mahout and pachhua view her playfulness as a good thing. Besides,NTNC’s administration has no intention of putting any of the elephants back on chainsbecause they see the positive impact going chain­free has had on all of them. As much as thephanit’s reaction saddens me, I have always known our work in Asia will not be easy. Iremain optimistic that change for better welfare will continue.

Kirti Kali: Fears unrealized

Before the elephants went chain­free, Kirti Kali was a bit of a wild card­­or at least hermahout, pachhua and phanit thought so. They warned that Kirti Kali could not go withoutchains because she would become dangerous and attack them.

I have heard this claim many times before about elephants we rescued at the Sanctuary. Ineach case, before coming to the Sanctuary these elephants had been managed with a heavyhand by keepers who used physical dominance and corporal punishment as a means ofcontrol. The keepers and trainers were convinced that “their” elephant would becomeaggressive when given freedom.

I can say from experience that the opposite is true. Reducing stress allows the elephant torelax, resulting in a more cooperative, less aggressive animal.

Instead of arguing or trying to convince Kirti Kali’smahouts that their fears were unfounded, I reassuredthem that we would not create a dangerous situation.What they needed to hear was that the chains were

Kirti Kali has blossomed sincegoing chain­free

Mel Kali enjoys her chain­freedom

available if their worst fears were realized.

When it came time for Kirti Kali to go chain­free, she didso without incident and is now more cooperative with hermahouts than she was when chained. In fact, the otherday her mahout was grinning from ear to ear when hecalled her from her corral because, contrary to hisconcern, Kirti Kali actually responded more quickly to hisrequest than she did when she was chained.

Left: Kirti Kali’s back pads when we began her trimming regimen. Right: Pachhua Hira LalGurou and Carol trimming her feet

Kirti Kali suffers from deep cracks in the pads of her back feet. Her front pads and nails arenormal and healthy but her back pads are dry and cracked. We are providing pad trims atregular intervals and the condition is gradually improving.

Mel Kali was the most comical about her freedom. She nearlydarted from her shelter to the wooded area of her corral andspent the entire night foraging. At seventy years old you’d thinkshe’d be slowing down, but not this spitfire! She is loving everyminute and every inch of her new­found freedom. After sevenlong decades in chains, she has earned it many times over.

Mahout, pachhua and phanit transition, too

With their worst fears unrealized, most mahouts havetransitioned into the new chain­free lifestyle well. Each day I

Hansa Raj Kunwar, KirtiKali’s mahout

Dr. Arjun­­­theyoung veterinarianunderwritten by EAI

notice many of them becoming more engaged, takingownership of their elephant’s corral, showing an interest in howthe corral functions and how their elephant functions inside it,beaming with pride at how well their elephant has adapted tothe change.

The other day Kirti Kali’s mahout gestured toward her corral,folded his arms across his chest and proudly proclaimed, Ramro,dherie ramro (good, very good). He was referring to the factthat Kirti Kali spends all her time in the wooded area of her corral browsing, dusting, rubbingon trees, completely immersed and comfortable in her environment. We shared a moment ofknowing that what is happening here is significant, not only for the elephants involved, butfor the worldwide effort to improve the welfare of captive held elephants.

The science of change

Documenting the transition of these six elephants from chains to achain­free life is imperative. Only through scientific documentation ofthe physical and psychological response to a chain­free existence canwe hope to influence others to make the changes necessary toimprove the welfare of other captive held elephants.

Dr. Arjun will continue to collect and compile daily elephant behavior,health records and mahout observations as well as to conduct monthlymahout interviews to track what we hope will be their evolving viewsregarding the changes we are making.

Improving life for the mahouts

With the corrals completed I can now concentrate on getting the water storage tank andtower built and elephant water troughs installed and plumbed.

Mahout storage shelter and fire house “held together with duct tape and baling wire,” as wesay in the States

While we are at it, the mahout facilities will receive a little attention. The detached buildingthat houses the community shower will be fitted with a solar powered hot water heater. Themahout’s open­air common area and fire house* will be refurbished and get concrete floors.The area used to wash the new wheelbarrows we provided will receive a concrete floor aswell.

By extending the improvements made to the hattisar to the mahout facilities, wedemonstrate an appreciation for the mahouts’ hard work and dedication. Already I have seenan improvement in morale that has resulted in better care of the elephants.

* A fire house is where the elephant staff keep the traditional fire (it is never allowed to burnout and has burned or smoldered since the hattisar was first constructed some thirty yearsago). This is where they cook, where Mel Kali’s rice is cooked, where they heat water for tea(which they drink many times each day) and where they warm themselves on chillymornings and evenings, since there is no heat in their rooms.

Mel Kali gave us a scare

Being the senior citizen of the hattisar, Mel Kali holds a special status. Her reputation as afearless tiger tracker and forest patrol elephant precedes her, ranking her high in the mindsof the mahouts. She is retired now, no longer required to do “duty” (forest patrol), but wordis that she was the elephant of choice when they needed to locate a tiger. Many say shecould scent a wild tiger and track it to its exact location. This unique attribute was useful inthe case of a problem tiger or one being tracked for scientific research.

The Mel Kali I know, however, is not a fearless hunter but a confident, even dainty, gentle,

Mel Kali suffers a serious illness

Shree, Jogendra, Ram, supervisorPaspat and Punte next to Mel Kaliafter putting her blanket on for thefirst time

aged elephant who, when hungry, blasts a drawn­out trumpet to get her mahout’s attention.She seems unconcerned about most situations and responds easily to her mahouts.

A spunky, childlike side of her exploded when she wasset free from her chains. She dashed into the trees,where she remained browsing, tearing down vines fromthe trees and snapping off branches as snacks.

In early January after several unseasonably cold,overcast days, Mel Kali developed a fever, went off herfood and became listless. Some thought this would beMel Kali’s last winter, saying she had the same illnesslast winter. But I saw something different in Mel Kali­­aninner drive to survive, the same kind of inner strength I saw in Barbara, Lota, Tina, Delhi andNed, elephants I was quite close to at the Sanctuary and whose condition also would leadmany to believe would soon die.

When I noticed Mel Kali shivering in the morning andsuggested she be given a blanket, the negative responsefrom the mahouts was swift and curt. The subject wasclearly closed to discussion. The mahouts would noteven engage the idea. But that evening, when Mel Kalireturned from the forest, Jogendra, her mahout, wasconcerned that she had not eaten or drunk all day. Hereopened the discussion about a blanket andimmediately agreed to the idea.

Over the next several days Mel Kali received expertveterinary care and compassionate attention from herentire mahout family. She recovered in record time. You can read more about her illness andrecovery on my facebook page.

The mahouts showed their true colors, letting down their hard exterior shell to show trueempathy for Mel Kali’s suffering. They went so far as to voluntarily put her blanket on everynight, something that earlier was vetoed without discussion.

Mel Kali recovered in record time and was soon back in theforest all day long. We are honored to have her still with us,enjoying her well­earned retirement and continuing to teach ushow intelligent, wise, humorous, kind, compassionate andvulnerable elephants are.

More chain‐free hattisars to come

I am eternally grateful to each and every one of you who made the first chain­free hattisar inAsia a dream come true.

In response to the success of NTNC’s chain­free hattisar, EAI has been approached by severalNepalese officials to convert other hattisars. Over the next two months I will explore eachoffer to identify our next project.

Please visit my Elevisions blog and my Facebookpage so I can keep you updated on our progress as ithappens!

Your support means better welfare standards

Thanks to your generous support EAI continues to raise standards for captive elephant care.The success of our foot care program and chain­free corrals is unprecedented.

With nearly 200 captive elephants in Nepal, our work has only just begun. I cannot stresshow important your continued support is.

We are ever grateful for the sizable contribution we received from The Harrison SanfordJackson Estate, which enabled us to create this impressive facility with five interconnectedchain­free corrals. Each corral is equipped with an individual cut­off switch so it can beoperated independently. If we have problems with one corral, the cut­off switch prevents theother corrals from being affected.

And, thanks to your generous support, we were also able to upgrade the power energizer toensure that Renaldo, the resident dominant jungeli hatti (wild elephant), stays on the outsideof the corral when he comes for a visit.

Our immediate goal is to expand our efforts and create many more chain­free hattisars.Please show your support by donating now to help us make Nepal the first country to free alltheir captive held elephants from chains. What a huge accomplishment that will be!

Namaste,

Carol BuckleyFounder and CEO

Our mailing address is:Elephant Aid InternationalPO Box 1064128 Buffalo RoadHohenwald, TN 38462

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