Indonesian Travel Guide

Asian Elephants

The Asian elephant is the largest land mammal on earth. In Indonesia, it roams the wilds of Sumatra and Kalimantan. The largest populations are concentrated in Way Kambas National Park and the Air Sugihan Reserve in South Sumatra. An adult Asian elephant consumes about three hundred pounds of food per day. They love the succulent leaves of young bamboo, ginger, and wild bananas. They also love oil palm, coconut, and other cultivated crops. A herd of these hungry creatures can wipe out young plantations quickly, which pits the elephants against their human neighbors in battles for survival. When elephants are pressed for space, they can come out of the jungle fighting mad, destroying crops, homes, and even killing farmers and their families. Many elephants also have been killed in this ongoing turf battle. To help minimize and manage these conflicts, the forestry department started an elephant education center at Way Kambas National Park. The center has trained hundreds of elephants to listen to human commands. Then the trained elephants are returned to the wild herds. When the herds come too close to a village or a plantation, villagers can issue commands to the trained animal to take the entire herd away from human conflict. Hundreds of villagers also have learned how to manage the wild animals in this manner. The education center has spawned similar training centers on Sumatra. As a result, elephant populations in parts of Sumatra are stabilizing. The fate of the elephant in Indonesia rests with its ability to coexist with its human neighbors, and programs such as the elephant education center can promote coexistence.

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