The anxiety of the "Elephant King"
Mr. Dang Nang Long has repeatedly emphasized that elephant conservation is not just about keeping them alive but also creating conditions for them to reproduce and develop.
“An elephant is like a machine, it needs to be operated regularly. It is too late to let an elephant mate at the age of 50. The physiological processes have been interrupted for too long, making them unable to reproduce,” Mr. Long once shared.
Mr. Long added that his family has both male and female elephants. Although female elephants are still capable of reproducing, mating between individual elephants is difficult.
Because when raising elephants, his family held a ceremony, named them, and joined the herd. Therefore, they knew they were brothers and sisters in the same family, and never let them mate.
"Elephant King" Dang Nang Long once revealed that male elephant Kham Sen and female elephant H'Bok Kham were very close to each other. Just a little distance from each other, they roared, demanded, and searched for each other. However, they did not mate.
The female elephant H’Bok Kham likes the male elephant from the neighboring village, but the owner of the male elephant there does not allow mating because he is afraid of risks. This makes Mr. Long very sad.
Belief in elephant conservation project
Mr. Long believes that elephant conservation needs to be linked to economic development. Elephant riding for tourism, though condemned as exploitative, is still the only livelihood for many people.
"To free elephants from carrying passengers, we must first create another economic source to raise elephants," he said.
Not to mention, the cost of raising an elephant is also quite high. On average, each elephant eats at least 300 kg of food a day, which costs nearly 300,000 VND. If the elephant is not used to carry passengers, how can the owner have enough money to raise the elephant?
Therefore, Mr. Long hopes that a solution is to create a common habitat forest where elephant owners can release elephants to interact, pair up and mate naturally. However, this requires proper investment and support policies from the government.
On November 15, 2022, the Dak Lak Provincial People's Committee approved a project to replace elephant riding tourism, aiming at sustainable elephant conservation. The project is sponsored by Animals Asia Foundation (AAF), bringing great hope to elephant owners.
Mr. Long was the first person to hand over elephant Y Khun to AAF for lifelong care. However, the project has only been implemented in some areas. Meanwhile, elephant owners in Lak district like Mr. Long still have to let their elephants carry passengers to make a living.
He always hopes that one day, domesticated elephants will be returned to the wild, living freely in a friendly environment. They will have the opportunity to reproduce and multiply, so that the Central Highlands will forever preserve the majestic elephant herd.
On October 27, 2024, "Elephant King" Dang Nang Long passed away forever, taking with him the dream of preserving elephants in the Central Highlands.
However, his efforts and enthusiasm still remain, as a precious legacy for those who follow in his footsteps on the journey to protect elephants - the mascot of the Central Highlands.
