Welcoming elephants home as a gathering place for the new bride
In the last days of July, we had the opportunity to go to Lien Son commune (Lak district) - where we own a large herd of domestic elephants in Dak Lak province.
The countryside is peaceful, but in that space there is still sadness. People here still blatantly mention the death of an elephant named bak Kham - an elephant purped from a wild elephant in 2014.
In 2008, bak Kham was adopted by the family of Mr. Y Thanh Uong (also known as Ma Quoc, 61 years old, Cuor Tak village).
Ma Quoc said that on the day he brought back back back back from work, his family held a solemn ceremony, inviting relatives and neighbors to join in the joy as if welcoming a new bride. Everyone was happy because the village had a new "elephant member".
Since then, Dak Kham has become an indispensable part of the family, always present at all happy and sad events. But on the night of July 17, 2025, a heartbreaking accident took the life of an elephant from the forest.
With red eyes, Ma Quoc choked up as he said that at that time, Dak Kham was in the exercise phase and really liked the Thong Rang male elephant.
The younger brother in the family created conditions for the two elephants to matriculate in the forest. However, unfortunately, back Ham slipped and fell. A branch of a forest tree has penetrated the abdomen, causing the elephant to not survive.
Hearing the news of an elephant in distress, many people crossed the forest to the scene. The death of Mikham shocked Mr. Ma Quoc and the entire family. They could not hold back their tears and hugged and took care of Dak Kham in their final farewell.
Family builds a grave for an elephant like family
After the elephant in back Ham died, Mr. Ma Quoc's family decided to build a grave for the elephant right next to his mother's grave.
The journey to bring back back back back Kham to the cemetery by Lak Lake was not easy. Due to the harsh terrain, steep mountains and forests, transporting elephant carcasses weighing more than 4 tons is extremely difficult.
His family had to mobilize three elephants, two tractors and many large chains to support. In addition, a large excavator and two push-ups were also mobilized to participate.
The journey lasted nearly 12 hours all night to bring back enough to take them to their final resting place.
Following Ma Quoc through many muddy roads, it took us about 30 minutes to walk to the elephant grave of bak Kham. The grave is located next to the grave of his mother - who passed away a few months ago.
Ma Quoc shared that for his family, Dak Kham is no different from a son. He wanted the elephant to be by his mother's side and especially to have the elephant head pointing towards the mother's grave as a sacred bond.
The grave is about 4m2 wide, surrounded by a B40 net. In the tomb, he placed all the fruits that elephants used to like to eat such as corn, carrots, sugarcane, banana, pumpkin...
Holding the carrot in his hand, Ma Quoc choked up: "Once in back of Dak Kham, tears flowed, so I immediately ordered a lot of carrots from Lam Dong to feed him. Every time he eats it, it is very healthy. Now there are all the dishes he likes, but just leave them there and leave them... Tak Ham is no longer there.
There are many large bowls on the grave, brought by the villagers to be placed next to it as a souvenir.
Ma Quoc said that after about a year - when the elephant carcass is decomposed and chopped down - he will build a solid concrete tomb. The tomb stele will engrave the image and name of backham so that future generations will remember a "special relative" in the family.