"Love the elephant"

In 2017, Ksor Duk, a young man from Gia Lai, took to the stage at Smithfield RSL Club in Sydney, Australia, playing the guitar and performing a song."Love the elephant"by musician Van Tuan Anh. This performance helped him win the Excellence Award in the "Viet Song Contest" held in Australia.

Three years later, it was still Ksor Duk, and that same voice stirred the heart of Nguyen Viet Hung.Hung Lekima) - a photographer and environmental activist, on his return to the Central Highlands mountains and forests. Those songs and lyrics simultaneously inspired him, once again, to call on the community to show compassion for the elephants.

Elephants have no tusks, and no tails either.

Since ancient times, elephant tail hair has been believed to ward off evil spirits and bring blessings to its owner, while ivory is considered a talisman capable of restoring health and increasing power. Over thousands of years, these beliefs have been reinforced, leading to an increase in the hunting and killing of wild elephants for their ivory and tail hair. To survive, wild elephants have had to accelerate their evolution at an incredible pace. While previously only 2-4% of female elephants in Africa were born without tusks, that number has now risen to over 30%.

Similarly, Asian elephants found in the forest often have sparse or even completely truncated tails. Even domesticated elephants kept in homes or tourist areas are not immune to losing tusks or having their tails amputated. Typically, when poachers forcibly pluck their tail hairs or saw off their tusks, elephants will not stand still but will resist, causing injuries to other parts of their bodies. Therefore, mahouts or elephant owners must personally saw off the tusks and cut off the tails of these animals to ensure their safety.

If this phenomenon spreads and continues indefinitely, one day humans may only be able to admire elephant tusks and tail hair in museums.

Elephants may disappear completely in Vietnam.

The Asian elephant is one of only three remaining elephant species on Earth. It is classified as endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List, facing a constant and alarming risk of extinction. According to a March 2015 report by the International Fund for Conservation of Nature in Vietnam, the total elephant population in Vietnam was estimated at around 100-120 individuals. On average, at least four wild elephants are killed or killed each year, meaning that by 2020, the number of elephants could very well be reduced to only 80-100.

These elephant herds largely live separately in small populations with uneven male-female ratios and an age structure that does not guarantee long-term development. Therefore, wild Asian elephants are threatened with complete extinction in Vietnam in the not-too-distant future.

To prevent this extinction, in addition to breeding elephants and stopping illegal hunting, the immediate priority is to minimize encroachment on their habitat. On average, an adult elephant consumes over 100 kg of leaves and 160-300 liters of water per day. However, forest areas are shrinking, rivers and lakes are becoming more polluted, and the lack of food and water for elephants is leading to reduced lifespans and their slow, agonizing deaths, as described in Ksor Duk's song.

In the old days, elephants frolicked on the mountain.

In the old days, countless birds used to return here.

The elephant's body bears countless scars of pain - it wanders endlessly in search of the distant green.

Where is the cool, clear river, where is nature, where is the gentle heart?

On the treeless hillside, the clouds ceased to drift, and the carcass of an elephant lay slumped beside the dry stream.

Pity the beloved elephants, where have they gone? The gods in the distant heavens grieve.

Not only wild elephants, but domesticated elephants are also at risk of disappearing, perhaps even sooner. According to the Dak Lak Elephant Conservation Center, the province currently has about 40 domesticated elephants, nearly half of which are old elephants over 40 years old and no longer capable of reproduction. Meanwhile, in 1980, the number of domesticated elephants in the province reached 500, and most were healthy. What has led to this drastic decline?

According to representatives from Animals Asia, the misuse of elephants as rides in tourism has led to a decline in their health and reproductive capacity. If this situation continues for another 10 years or so, domesticated elephants will certainly disappear.

Be a humane tourist.

Photographer Nguyen Viet Hung is urging everyone, from now on, to actively support the "Humanitarian Tourism, No Elephant Riding" campaign when visiting national parks. Instead of riding elephants, we can choose to cycle, explore the deciduous forest, and observe these magnificent creatures freely playing, foraging for food, and socializing in herds... These experiences will surely be more enjoyable, more natural, and only in this way can we truly observe the lives of elephants – instead of treating them as a means of transportation or entertainment.

This campaign has yielded positive initial results, as the labor pressure on domesticated elephants has been somewhat reduced. In 2019, two female elephants, P'Lú (60 years old) and Bun Kon (37 years old), were moved to Yok Đôn National Park to live and forage freely.

Hopefully, in the future, other domesticated elephants will also be moved to a suitable habitat. The elephants will once again be as powerful as they once were, and when singing about his homeland, Ksor Duk will no longer lament, "Who ate the elephant's tusk?"

Jiang Song