Elephant Parking

Elephants awaiting their next job at Chitwan National Park in Nepal. I was so much looking forward to spending a day on an elephant counting one-horned rhinos (see Rhinos, More Rhinos, and Elephants in the Mist). Had a great time and saw a lot of rhinos, but it really wasn't a very comfortable place to sit. Bet the elephant wasn't too carzy about it, either. [NOTE: Image scanned from an old slide].

Plant Collecting

Another example of an elephant being used to collect plant specimens (see Hukaung Valley Rattan Survey). If I remember correctly, the mahouts were trying to get the orchid on the branch above for Dr. Saw Lwin (see Tea Break). [NOTE: The black Eagle Creek duffel bag on top of the white plastic jug on the elephant to the right has all of my stuff in it]. 

Cooling Off

Scorching temperatures in New York remind me of standing knee-deep in the Taron River (see Crossing the Taron) in northern Myanmar with my pants rolled up trying to take a photo of an elephant and his handler wading out into the river to cool off. And trying not to drop my camera in the water. And wondering how long before it started raining.

Postcards From The Ledo Road

There is always something interesting (and photogenic) around the bend on this old, World War II-vintage road.  [NOTE: If I remember correctly, we were on the way to Takhet (see CBNRM 2009) when I took this.]

Racing Elephants

We were standing on the Ledo Road measuring tree heights with a clinometer when two elephants with their mahouts came racing toward us. I was able to get some footage - but almost got run over in the process. [NOTE: Never found out where they were going.  I think they were just having a race].

Driver Needs a Drink of Water

One of the elephant handlers stops on the outskirts of Namyun to get a drink of water before heading down the Ledo Road with our bags (see Hukuang Valley Rattan Survey, Shopping for Supplies, A Bridge to Far, and Myanmar 2005). [NOTE: Watch for the geese walking across the road in front of the elephants].

A Bridge Too Far

All of the original metal bridges on the Ledo Road in northern Myanmar have rusted and collapsed. Many of them have been replaced with makeshift bridges built using boards and long wooden poles lashed together with rattan. Our two portage elephants had strikingly different reactions to these bridges.  Loi Mai, the lead elephant, walked across without hesitation.  Aung Bu, on the other hand, refused to cross even after much prodding and his handler had to find another route (thx, Tun Shaung). [NOTE: see Bathing the Elephant and Hukaung Valley Rattan Survey for more footage of Loi Mai and Aung Bu.]