1
00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:13,390
(♪♪♪)
2
00:00:13,470 --> 00:00:16,220
♪ It feels so warm.
3
00:00:16,300 --> 00:00:20,770
Lying in your mother's arms.
4
00:00:20,850 --> 00:00:22,650
Nothing can hurt you.
5
00:00:22,730 --> 00:00:25,610
You're free from harm when
6
00:00:25,690 --> 00:00:31,660
Y0U're young ♪
7
00:00:31,740 --> 00:00:36,740
(♪♪♪)
8
00:00:43,870 --> 00:00:46,470
>> Narrator: It all begins when
9
00:00:46,540 --> 00:00:53,600
she is born in the forest.
10
00:00:53,670 --> 00:00:54,850
Her family are the largest
11
00:00:55,300 --> 00:00:56,770
animals still walking upon
12
00:00:56,840 --> 00:01:00,350
the earth.
13
00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:04,350
(♪♪♪)
14
00:01:04,430 --> 00:01:10,490
But their world has changed.
15
00:01:11,820 --> 00:01:14,410
(♪♪♪)
16
00:01:14,490 --> 00:01:19,490
[elephants trumpeting]
17
00:01:26,620 --> 00:01:31,620
(♪♪♪)
18
00:01:49,690 --> 00:01:54,740
[chains clanking]
19
00:01:54,820 --> 00:01:57,740
[tailgate slamming]
20
00:01:57,820 --> 00:02:02,820
[Car engine]
21
00:02:33,940 --> 00:02:38,370
[elephant groaning]
22
00:02:41,570 --> 00:02:45,790
(♪♪♪)
23
00:03:04,970 --> 00:03:09,970
(♪♪♪)
24
00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:37,430
(♪♪♪)
25
00:03:37,500 --> 00:03:39,010
>> Narrator: In Thailand, maybe
26
00:03:39,420 --> 00:03:40,850
a hundred years ago,
27
00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:42,680
must have been over a 100 --
28
00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:47,440
200,000 elephants, at least.
29
00:03:47,510 --> 00:03:50,890
Right now, there are only
30
00:03:50,980 --> 00:03:53,400
2,800-something captive
31
00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:55,700
elephants.
32
00:03:55,770 --> 00:03:59,570
And maybe just a 1,200 wild
33
00:03:59,650 --> 00:04:02,450
elephants.
34
00:04:02,530 --> 00:04:04,700
So all together, we're talking
35
00:04:04,780 --> 00:04:09,880
about 4,000.
36
00:04:09,950 --> 00:04:14,950
[elephants trumpeting]
37
00:04:20,710 --> 00:04:21,640
>> Narrator: This newborn baby
38
00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:23,560
and her mother are known
39
00:04:23,630 --> 00:04:25,890
as Elephas Maximus or
40
00:04:25,970 --> 00:04:30,770
the Asian elephant.
41
00:04:30,850 --> 00:04:31,900
They once roamed freely
42
00:04:31,980 --> 00:04:33,850
through these forests as
43
00:04:33,940 --> 00:04:37,910
caretakers of the ecosystem.
44
00:04:37,980 --> 00:04:39,730
But 95% of the forest they used
45
00:04:39,820 --> 00:04:42,870
to call home is now gone.
46
00:04:42,940 --> 00:04:45,490
And with fewer than 45,000 Asian
47
00:04:45,570 --> 00:04:46,740
elephants remaining in the
48
00:04:46,820 --> 00:04:49,750
world, they are classified as an
49
00:04:49,830 --> 00:04:55,800
endangered species.
50
00:05:07,590 --> 00:05:12,590
(♪♪♪)
51
00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:19,160
>> Narrator: Over 300 captive
52
00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:21,740
elephants live in Surin province
53
00:05:21,820 --> 00:05:24,820
in northeastern Thailand.
54
00:05:24,900 --> 00:05:27,500
Only 5O years ago, this area was
55
00:05:27,570 --> 00:05:29,750
mostly forest with plenty of
56
00:05:29,830 --> 00:05:34,920
wild elephants.
57
00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:36,620
It is now one of Thailand's most
58
00:05:36,710 --> 00:05:39,550
productive rice growing regions
59
00:05:39,630 --> 00:05:40,750
and there is little natural
60
00:05:40,840 --> 00:05:43,680
forest left.
61
00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:44,880
The last wild elephant was
62
00:05:44,970 --> 00:05:48,970
captured here over 5O years ago.
63
00:05:49,050 --> 00:05:53,930
(♪♪♪)
64
00:05:54,020 --> 00:05:54,860
>> Narrator: 35 captive
65
00:05:54,930 --> 00:05:56,030
elephants now live in
66
00:05:56,100 --> 00:05:59,070
this village.
67
00:05:59,150 --> 00:06:04,150
(♪♪♪)
68
00:06:18,710 --> 00:06:28,690
>> Narrator: It is a
69
00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:30,100
community that has preserved
70
00:06:30,180 --> 00:06:31,720
it's traditions of keeping
71
00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:33,930
elephants.
72
00:06:34,010 --> 00:06:34,810
Even though the world has
73
00:06:34,850 --> 00:06:37,900
changed around them.
74
00:06:38,810 --> 00:06:45,110
(♪♪♪)
75
00:06:45,190 --> 00:06:46,070
>> Narrator: Grandfather was
76
00:06:46,150 --> 00:06:49,200
once a wild elephant catcher.
77
00:06:49,610 --> 00:06:51,580
Now, too old to work, he relies
78
00:06:51,660 --> 00:06:53,580
on his grandchildren to take
79
00:06:53,660 --> 00:06:58,130
care of the family elephant.
80
00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:02,760
Nong Mai is the family elephant.
81
00:07:20,980 --> 00:07:27,990
(♪♪♪)
82
00:07:28,070 --> 00:07:29,160
>> Grandpa and his
83
00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:31,160
granddaughter, Duen,
84
00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:32,240
bought Nong Mai
85
00:07:32,660 --> 00:07:36,630
when she was just 3 years old.
86
00:07:36,700 --> 00:07:37,750
They bought her to work in the
87
00:07:37,830 --> 00:07:39,800
street begging business run by
88
00:07:39,870 --> 00:07:43,170
Uncle Saweang.
89
00:07:43,250 --> 00:07:44,920
For the past three years, the
90
00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:47,170
family has entrusted Nong Mai to
91
00:07:47,250 --> 00:07:51,680
the care of grandson Wok.
92
00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:53,930
Wok is 26 years old, and Nong
93
00:07:54,010 --> 00:07:56,890
Mai is his first elephant.
94
00:08:18,990 --> 00:08:25,090
(♪♪♪)
95
00:08:25,170 --> 00:08:26,920
>> Narrator: For centuries,
96
00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:27,970
elephants have always been a
97
00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:31,770
familiar part of village life.
98
00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:34,840
(♪♪♪)
99
00:08:34,930 --> 00:08:35,350
>> Narrator: The traditions
100
00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:36,980
of elephant care are handed
101
00:08:37,050 --> 00:08:38,230
down from one generation
102
00:08:38,300 --> 00:08:41,150
to another.
103
00:08:42,180 --> 00:08:52,120
(♪♪♪)
104
00:08:57,990 --> 00:09:00,840
[laughing]
105
00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:03,960
>> Narrator: Most of the
106
00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:05,090
elephants here work in
107
00:09:05,170 --> 00:09:09,170
tourist camps.
108
00:09:09,250 --> 00:09:12,220
But for Wok and his family,
109
00:09:12,300 --> 00:09:13,220
street begging with their
110
00:09:13,300 --> 00:09:17,140
elephant is the family business.
111
00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:23,790
(♪♪♪)
112
00:10:23,870 --> 00:10:24,960
>> Narrator: Wok's family
113
00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:25,960
is from an ethnic group
114
00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:29,090
known as Guay.
115
00:10:29,170 --> 00:10:30,290
The Guay people have lived in
116
00:10:30,380 --> 00:10:32,000
Surin province near the border
117
00:10:32,090 --> 00:10:33,460
with Cambodia for many
118
00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:36,060
centuries.
119
00:10:36,130 --> 00:10:37,260
They were famous as wild
120
00:10:37,340 --> 00:10:39,260
elephant catchers, and the men
121
00:10:39,340 --> 00:10:40,310
who hunted elephants were
122
00:10:40,390 --> 00:10:44,270
honoured.
123
00:10:44,350 --> 00:10:47,350
It was a dangerous way of life
124
00:10:47,430 --> 00:10:49,280
filled with secret rituals and
125
00:10:49,350 --> 00:10:51,320
mysterious beliefs.
126
00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:55,030
The Guay would train their
127
00:10:55,110 --> 00:10:57,080
captives and sell them as beasts
128
00:10:57,150 --> 00:11:00,030
of burden for use in logging and
129
00:11:00,030 --> 00:11:04,960
transportation.
130
00:11:05,030 --> 00:11:07,000
Eventually, there were no more
131
00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:13,300
wild elephants left to catch.
132
00:11:13,380 --> 00:11:16,380
A ban on logging in 1989 and
133
00:11:16,460 --> 00:11:18,060
left over 2,000 captive
134
00:11:18,130 --> 00:11:20,010
elephants and their human
135
00:11:20,090 --> 00:11:23,270
families out of work.
136
00:11:23,340 --> 00:11:25,890
Tourism was the only legal work
137
00:11:25,970 --> 00:11:27,270
left for the once proud
138
00:11:27,350 --> 00:11:30,480
elephant catchers.
139
00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:36,480
(♪♪♪)
140
00:12:02,380 --> 00:12:03,380
>> Narrator: For thousands
141
00:12:03,470 --> 00:12:05,020
of years,
142
00:12:05,090 --> 00:12:06,060
elephants have played a
143
00:12:06,140 --> 00:12:10,270
central role in Asian culture,
144
00:12:10,350 --> 00:12:17,070
and nowhere more than Thailand.
145
00:12:17,150 --> 00:12:18,070
The use of elephants in
146
00:12:18,150 --> 00:12:20,240
transportation and logging once
147
00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:21,320
helped to build the
148
00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:26,580
natio♪s economy.
149
00:12:26,990 --> 00:12:28,330
They were Thailand's equivalent
150
00:12:28,410 --> 00:12:30,080
of heavy machinery and they were
151
00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:32,460
used in warfare to defend the
152
00:12:32,540 --> 00:12:35,010
natio♪s freedom and conquer
153
00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:37,050
it's enemies.
154
00:12:38,340 --> 00:12:43,310
(♪♪♪)
155
00:12:43,970 --> 00:12:44,470
>> Narrator: Elephants are the
156
00:12:44,510 --> 00:12:45,560
number of one attraction
157
00:12:45,970 --> 00:12:48,270
in the tourism industry.
158
00:12:48,350 --> 00:12:49,310
A business that brings
159
00:12:49,390 --> 00:12:51,390
$40 billion into Thailand
160
00:12:51,470 --> 00:12:56,570
every year.
161
00:12:56,980 --> 00:12:58,400
The annual festival in Surin
162
00:12:58,480 --> 00:12:59,280
is the place where people
163
00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:04,070
buy and sell elephants
164
00:13:04,150 --> 00:13:06,030
and elephant parts like
165
00:13:06,110 --> 00:13:10,340
skin, bones, and ivory.
166
00:13:10,410 --> 00:13:12,290
(♪♪♪)
167
00:13:17,540 --> 00:13:19,420
>> Under the transport act,
168
00:13:19,500 --> 00:13:21,100
the owner of an elephant is
169
00:13:21,170 --> 00:13:24,090
allowed to dispose the carcass
170
00:13:24,170 --> 00:13:25,390
or any parts of the elephant
171
00:13:25,470 --> 00:13:27,430
after it dies or even some
172
00:13:27,510 --> 00:13:30,350
parts when it's still alive
173
00:13:30,430 --> 00:13:33,060
anyway they like.
174
00:13:33,140 --> 00:13:34,480
It's not illegal to sell the
175
00:13:34,560 --> 00:13:38,230
tusks from a domestic elephant.
176
00:13:38,310 --> 00:13:39,240
Well, how can you tell the
177
00:13:39,310 --> 00:13:41,190
difference between ivory from
178
00:13:41,270 --> 00:13:43,030
a domestic elephant and ivory
179
00:13:43,110 --> 00:13:44,080
from a wild elephant?
180
00:13:44,150 --> 00:13:47,500
Of course, it's impossible.
181
00:13:47,570 --> 00:13:48,320
>> Narrator: Selling ivory from
182
00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:50,040
these domestic elephants is
183
00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:52,040
currently allowed.
184
00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:53,090
But the trade is so poorly
185
00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:55,080
regulated that it has been
186
00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:57,290
exploited as a front to sell
187
00:13:57,370 --> 00:13:59,420
smuggled tusks of African
188
00:13:59,500 --> 00:14:02,420
elephants.
189
00:14:02,500 --> 00:14:06,100
Enabled by a legal loophole,
190
00:14:06,170 --> 00:14:07,220
Thailand is one of the biggest
191
00:14:07,300 --> 00:14:09,100
markets servicing the global
192
00:14:09,180 --> 00:14:13,270
ivory trade.
193
00:14:13,350 --> 00:14:15,100
The loophole threatens not only
194
00:14:15,180 --> 00:14:17,190
Asian elephants in Thailand but
195
00:14:17,270 --> 00:14:20,400
all elephants worldwide.
196
00:14:33,530 --> 00:14:34,160
>> Narrator: The elephant's
197
00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:38,090
popularity is also
198
00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:39,460
their misfortunate.
199
00:14:39,540 --> 00:14:42,590
(♪♪♪)
200
00:14:42,670 --> 00:14:44,090
The growing demand for elephants
201
00:14:44,170 --> 00:14:45,390
in Thailand's tourism
202
00:14:45,460 --> 00:14:48,090
industry is supplied by an
203
00:14:48,170 --> 00:14:50,470
elephant population that
204
00:14:50,550 --> 00:14:54,430
is now endangered.
205
00:14:55,350 --> 00:15:03,110
(♪♪♪)
206
00:15:41,230 --> 00:15:43,400
>> Narrator: Wok is a mahout
207
00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:45,070
which is the name for someone
208
00:15:45,150 --> 00:15:50,660
who looks after elephants.
209
00:15:50,740 --> 00:15:51,490
Being a mahout was once a
210
00:15:51,570 --> 00:15:55,620
respected job.
211
00:15:55,700 --> 00:15:57,120
But the traditional ways of
212
00:15:57,200 --> 00:16:06,090
elephant keeping are changing.
213
00:16:06,170 --> 00:16:07,140
It's against the law to street
214
00:16:07,210 --> 00:16:11,340
beg with elephants.
215
00:16:11,420 --> 00:16:13,180
So hiding an elephant in the
216
00:16:13,260 --> 00:16:18,560
city is Wok's solution.
217
00:16:20,810 --> 00:16:27,740
(♪♪♪)
218
00:16:27,820 --> 00:16:28,530
>> Narrator: A good hideaway
219
00:16:28,610 --> 00:16:29,400
lowers the risk of
220
00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:31,410
getting arrested and increases
221
00:16:31,490 --> 00:16:35,830
the chances of making money.
222
00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:41,200
(♪♪♪)
223
00:18:15,340 --> 00:18:15,840
>> Narrator: Elephants spend
224
00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:18,430
most of the day eating.
225
00:18:18,510 --> 00:18:19,760
To stay healthy, Nong Mai has to
226
00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:21,690
eat over 5% of her body
227
00:18:21,760 --> 00:18:25,520
weight per day-
228
00:18:26,310 --> 00:18:31,310
(♪♪♪)
229
00:18:37,360 --> 00:18:42,360
[laughter]
230
00:18:48,330 --> 00:18:49,420
The day-to-day chores of
231
00:18:49,500 --> 00:18:50,970
elephant keeping builds
232
00:18:51,330 --> 00:18:54,300
a relationship.
233
00:18:54,380 --> 00:18:55,550
A relationship that could last
234
00:18:55,630 --> 00:18:59,390
a lifetime.
235
00:18:59,470 --> 00:19:01,600
>> Whether you believe or not
236
00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:02,640
that they should be in
237
00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:04,350
captivity, they are in
238
00:19:04,430 --> 00:19:05,850
captivity.
239
00:19:05,930 --> 00:19:06,980
And it's a relationship that
240
00:19:07,350 --> 00:19:10,730
goes back at least 4,000 years,
241
00:19:10,810 --> 00:19:14,740
and my own feeling is --
242
00:19:14,820 --> 00:19:16,740
surmised, unscientific -- is
243
00:19:16,820 --> 00:19:18,320
that I think it probably goes
244
00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:22,750
back to the paleolithic.
245
00:19:22,820 --> 00:19:25,580
So political correctness says,
246
00:19:25,660 --> 00:19:26,790
No, they should not be kept in
247
00:19:26,870 --> 00:19:28,370
captivity.
248
00:19:28,450 --> 00:19:31,880
But we have this relationship
249
00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:33,430
with them that goes back a
250
00:19:33,500 --> 00:19:37,930
millennia and it's fascinating.
251
00:19:38,010 --> 00:19:42,730
And, you know, why and how did
252
00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:47,560
this relationship happen?
253
00:19:48,890 --> 00:19:55,400
[elephants trumpeting]
254
00:19:55,650 --> 00:19:56,370
>> Narrator: It's been said that
255
00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:57,570
Buddha was born as an elephant
256
00:19:57,650 --> 00:20:01,780
in a previous life.
257
00:20:01,860 --> 00:20:06,740
(♪♪♪)
258
00:20:06,830 --> 00:20:07,540
>> Narrator: Buddha's believe
259
00:20:07,620 --> 00:20:09,670
the qualities of the elephant
260
00:20:09,750 --> 00:20:11,000
-- their empathy, patience,
261
00:20:11,410 --> 00:20:13,710
and strength -- are essential
262
00:20:13,790 --> 00:20:15,510
attributes to follow on
263
00:20:15,580 --> 00:20:17,930
the path to enlightenment.
264
00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:23,880
(♪♪♪)
265
00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:32,860
>> Every Thai man is expected
266
00:20:32,940 --> 00:20:34,690
to be ordained as a Buddhist
267
00:20:34,810 --> 00:20:36,560
monk for three months during
268
00:20:36,650 --> 00:20:38,620
his lifetime.
269
00:20:38,690 --> 00:20:39,910
(♪♪♪)
270
00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:06,920
(♪♪♪)
271
00:21:33,910 --> 00:21:38,910
(♪♪♪)
272
00:22:14,830 --> 00:22:15,750
>> Before they're ordained to
273
00:22:15,830 --> 00:22:16,920
go through this three months
274
00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:21,590
process, they make these
275
00:22:21,670 --> 00:22:23,050
charming but gawdy costumes,
276
00:22:23,130 --> 00:22:25,930
you know, with kinda
277
00:22:26,010 --> 00:22:27,880
really cheap cloth and coloured
278
00:22:27,970 --> 00:22:31,810
paper and gold foil crowns.
279
00:22:31,890 --> 00:22:33,100
They are meant to be like the
280
00:22:33,180 --> 00:22:36,780
Buddha himself who was a prince.
281
00:22:36,850 --> 00:22:38,100
He was due to be a king, and he
282
00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:40,610
gave it all up to meditate.
283
00:22:40,690 --> 00:22:41,910
So they dress the boys up like
284
00:22:41,980 --> 00:22:42,860
him, so when they ride to be
285
00:22:42,940 --> 00:22:45,660
ordained, they have to be on the
286
00:22:45,730 --> 00:22:47,990
back of an elephant.
287
00:22:48,070 --> 00:22:48,950
In some villages in the old
288
00:22:49,030 --> 00:22:49,910
days, if you did♪t have an
289
00:22:49,990 --> 00:22:51,580
elephant you'd use a horse.
290
00:22:51,660 --> 00:22:52,910
If you did♪t have a horse,
291
00:22:52,990 --> 00:22:53,960
you'd ride on the shoulders of a
292
00:22:54,030 --> 00:22:59,090
friend to be ordained as a monk.
293
00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:00,040
So the elephants play a really
294
00:23:00,120 --> 00:23:03,090
simple role.
295
00:23:03,170 --> 00:23:04,920
It's a lovely image,
296
00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:07,600
and it's fun to be there.
297
00:23:07,670 --> 00:23:10,020
It's nice to see, but there's no
298
00:23:10,090 --> 00:23:11,890
way you can support a family on
299
00:23:11,970 --> 00:23:14,970
these events.
300
00:23:16,680 --> 00:23:21,980
(♪♪♪)
301
00:23:22,060 --> 00:23:23,030
>> When you talk to the
302
00:23:23,110 --> 00:23:24,950
Guay, Why are you bringing this
303
00:23:25,020 --> 00:23:26,820
elephant into the city?
304
00:23:26,900 --> 00:23:28,070
Do♪t you know it's horrible?
305
00:23:28,150 --> 00:23:29,070
Do♪t you know it's wrong?
306
00:23:29,150 --> 00:23:30,950
And often they will be,
307
00:23:31,030 --> 00:23:32,000
Yeah, sure.
308
00:23:32,070 --> 00:23:33,040
We know that.
309
00:23:33,120 --> 00:23:36,670
But at home there is no work for
310
00:23:36,740 --> 00:23:39,040
the men and there's no food or
311
00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:40,750
water for the elephants,
312
00:23:40,830 --> 00:23:41,800
so, therefore, we're forced
313
00:23:41,870 --> 00:23:45,050
to do this.
314
00:23:45,130 --> 00:23:46,220
Street monitoring enabled them
315
00:23:46,670 --> 00:23:48,050
to just work by themselves, to
316
00:23:48,130 --> 00:23:51,010
not have a boss, and that's when
317
00:23:51,090 --> 00:23:52,760
the street wandering into
318
00:23:52,840 --> 00:23:55,190
Bangkok started.
319
00:23:56,220 --> 00:23:59,020
(♪♪♪)
320
00:24:05,770 --> 00:24:10,770
(♪♪♪)
321
00:24:58,740 --> 00:25:02,250
(♪♪♪)
322
00:25:02,330 --> 00:25:07,330
[rain falling]
323
00:25:19,180 --> 00:25:24,180
(♪♪♪)
324
00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:46,080
(♪♪♪)
325
00:26:57,860 --> 00:27:02,860
[thunder]
326
00:27:45,910 --> 00:27:48,330
(♪♪♪)
327
00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:29,370
>> Narrator: Wok took Nong Mai
328
00:28:29,450 --> 00:28:30,580
when she was just 3 years old
329
00:28:30,660 --> 00:28:32,160
to work in his Uncle's Saweang's
330
00:28:32,250 --> 00:28:34,500
illegal elephant camp on the
331
00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:39,390
outskirts of Bangkok.
332
00:28:40,510 --> 00:28:44,260
[birds chirping]
333
00:28:46,090 --> 00:28:48,270
(♪♪♪)
334
00:28:48,350 --> 00:28:53,020
♪ You want and you dream.
335
00:28:53,100 --> 00:28:59,230
You smile and it seems.
336
00:28:59,320 --> 00:29:02,290
The day's so long and clean
337
00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:08,410
when you're young.
338
00:29:08,490 --> 00:29:11,000
You laugh.
339
00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:13,380
You scheme.
340
00:29:13,460 --> 00:29:15,080
You chase down the
341
00:29:15,170 --> 00:29:19,340
first moonbeam.
342
00:29:19,420 --> 00:29:22,420
The nights too soon it seems
343
00:29:22,510 --> 00:29:30,270
when you're young.
344
00:29:30,350 --> 00:29:35,320
It feels so warm lying in your
345
00:29:35,390 --> 00:29:38,150
mother's arms.
346
00:29:38,230 --> 00:29:40,200
Nothing can hurt you.
347
00:29:40,270 --> 00:29:43,370
You're free from harm when
348
00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:44,950
You're young.
349
00:29:45,030 --> 00:29:48,080
You fall asleep and hope you
350
00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:50,500
wake a bit older and then
351
00:29:50,580 --> 00:29:54,960
you'll know.
352
00:29:55,040 --> 00:29:58,130
All that you did♪t know when
353
00:29:58,210 --> 00:30:06,010
you were young.
354
00:30:06,090 --> 00:30:11,020
But now your lost, lying in some
355
00:30:11,100 --> 00:30:13,390
stranger's arms.
356
00:30:13,470 --> 00:30:15,480
No one beside you.
357
00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:22,320
No one to guide you from now on.
358
00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:27,400
(♪♪♪)
359
00:30:41,170 --> 00:30:44,670
You're all alone.
360
00:30:45,090 --> 00:30:48,430
Moved so far away from home.
361
00:30:48,510 --> 00:30:51,260
You're out in the world.
362
00:30:51,350 --> 00:30:53,440
Out on your own.
363
00:30:53,510 --> 00:30:55,440
You're thinking, why does
364
00:30:55,520 --> 00:30:58,390
everything hurt?
365
00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:00,350
Do♪t want to admit.
366
00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:03,570
You planned all of it.
367
00:31:03,650 --> 00:31:05,150
Ithappenedlong
368
00:31:05,230 --> 00:31:08,490
before you knew it.
369
00:31:08,570 --> 00:31:10,410
You ca♪t rewind.
370
00:31:10,490 --> 00:31:15,460
You've run out of time.
371
00:31:15,540 --> 00:31:18,510
You wake up and you're old.
372
00:31:18,580 --> 00:31:21,080
Your life behind you.
373
00:31:21,170 --> 00:31:25,590
Your story told.
374
00:31:25,670 --> 00:31:29,100
Your memories unfold to when
375
00:31:29,170 --> 00:31:34,560
you were young.
376
00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:37,390
To the beach.
377
00:31:37,470 --> 00:31:40,070
The fair.
378
00:31:40,140 --> 00:31:45,490
The sunshine's in sweeter air.
379
00:31:45,570 --> 00:31:49,410
Nothing can compare to when
380
00:31:49,490 --> 00:31:56,240
You're young.
381
00:31:56,330 --> 00:32:00,550
When you were -- when you were
382
00:32:00,620 --> 00:32:05,620
-- when you were young ♪
383
00:32:20,390 --> 00:32:21,140
>> Narrator: Elephants spend
384
00:32:21,180 --> 00:32:24,110
nearly two years in the womb.
385
00:32:24,190 --> 00:32:25,400
The longest pregnancy of
386
00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:29,080
any animal.
387
00:32:29,150 --> 00:32:30,740
This long gestation means that
388
00:32:31,150 --> 00:32:34,250
they can walk just after birth
389
00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:35,410
and immediately begin to sense
390
00:32:35,490 --> 00:32:40,340
the world around them.
391
00:32:40,410 --> 00:32:42,090
Most Asian elephants can live
392
00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:44,460
over 7O years.
393
00:32:44,540 --> 00:32:47,090
But like all wild elephants,
394
00:32:47,170 --> 00:32:52,680
her destiny is now challenged.
395
00:32:52,760 --> 00:32:54,130
Instead of living peacefully
396
00:32:54,220 --> 00:32:55,140
with her mother, she could be
397
00:32:55,220 --> 00:32:57,190
captured and taken from her
398
00:32:57,260 --> 00:33:03,520
family to work for humans.
399
00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:05,150
>> Traditionally, anywhere in
400
00:33:05,230 --> 00:33:07,400
Asia, people prefer not to
401
00:33:07,480 --> 00:33:09,150
breed elephants.
402
00:33:09,230 --> 00:33:10,700
Not because it was impossible
403
00:33:10,780 --> 00:33:14,750
because they breed quite easily.
404
00:33:14,820 --> 00:33:16,410
The trouble with breeding
405
00:33:16,490 --> 00:33:21,840
elephants is if you breed a
406
00:33:22,160 --> 00:33:25,380
female you're gonna lose a lot
407
00:33:25,460 --> 00:33:27,760
of productive work from her
408
00:33:27,830 --> 00:33:29,260
during the late stages of
409
00:33:29,340 --> 00:33:30,630
pregnancy and when she's
410
00:33:30,710 --> 00:33:32,760
nursing the calf.
411
00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:34,720
Whereas if you capture a wild
412
00:33:34,800 --> 00:33:36,550
elephant then you can get the
413
00:33:36,640 --> 00:33:37,760
elephant when it's seven or
414
00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:38,810
eight years old.
415
00:33:38,890 --> 00:33:40,760
So that's seven or eight years
416
00:33:40,850 --> 00:33:43,400
of work that you do♪t have to
417
00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:47,820
put into caring for that calf.
418
00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:54,830
(♪♪♪)
419
00:33:55,530 --> 00:33:56,370
>> Narrator: Capturing wild
420
00:33:56,450 --> 00:33:57,740
elephants from their rapidly
421
00:33:57,820 --> 00:33:59,790
shrinking habitats has
422
00:33:59,870 --> 00:34:01,580
accelerated the decline of the
423
00:34:01,660 --> 00:34:05,590
wild elephant population.
424
00:34:05,660 --> 00:34:07,260
The price of an elephant has
425
00:34:07,330 --> 00:34:08,380
more than tripled over the
426
00:34:08,460 --> 00:34:10,760
past 15 years.
427
00:34:10,840 --> 00:34:13,840
Today, it costs over $30,000 to
428
00:34:14,260 --> 00:34:16,810
buy one baby elephant.
429
00:34:16,880 --> 00:34:18,350
Even though wild elephants
430
00:34:18,430 --> 00:34:19,300
are protected by law in
431
00:34:19,390 --> 00:34:21,390
Thailand, the weak enforcement
432
00:34:21,470 --> 00:34:23,640
of regulations enables the
433
00:34:23,720 --> 00:34:24,820
illegal capturing and
434
00:34:24,890 --> 00:34:29,900
trading to continue.
435
00:34:30,310 --> 00:34:30,810
Sometimes the mother elephants
436
00:34:30,860 --> 00:34:32,610
are injured or killed while
437
00:34:32,690 --> 00:34:34,790
trying to protect their calfs.
438
00:34:34,860 --> 00:34:38,830
[truck engine]
439
00:34:46,830 --> 00:34:48,750
>> We've never had the situation
440
00:34:48,830 --> 00:34:51,380
where the number of baby
441
00:34:51,460 --> 00:34:53,550
elephants born in captivity has
442
00:34:53,630 --> 00:34:55,880
been sufficient to meet the
443
00:34:56,300 --> 00:34:58,430
demand for young and baby
444
00:34:58,510 --> 00:35:02,760
elephants in the tourism sector.
445
00:35:02,850 --> 00:35:03,850
So that has led to, you know,
446
00:35:03,930 --> 00:35:06,310
illegal capture of elephants in
447
00:35:06,390 --> 00:35:08,560
the wild in Thailand.
448
00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:09,610
But as that has gotten more and
449
00:35:09,690 --> 00:35:10,730
more difficult with better
450
00:35:10,810 --> 00:35:12,780
protection, it's illegal
451
00:35:12,860 --> 00:35:14,530
smuggling of elephants across
452
00:35:14,610 --> 00:35:15,780
the borders from Laos and
453
00:35:15,860 --> 00:35:19,740
from Myanmar.
454
00:35:19,820 --> 00:35:20,790
You know, because what everybody
455
00:35:20,860 --> 00:35:22,660
wants in the tourism industry is
456
00:35:22,740 --> 00:35:24,710
a baby elephant to have around
457
00:35:24,780 --> 00:35:26,790
their hotel because it's so cute
458
00:35:26,870 --> 00:35:29,420
and the guests like it.
459
00:35:29,500 --> 00:35:30,920
After they grow up, okay, then
460
00:35:31,330 --> 00:35:32,930
maybe, you know, they do♪t want
461
00:35:33,340 --> 00:35:35,300
them around the hotel anymore.
462
00:35:35,380 --> 00:35:36,430
They ca♪t go into the logging
463
00:35:36,500 --> 00:35:37,600
industry because it does♪t
464
00:35:37,670 --> 00:35:39,770
exist anymore.
465
00:35:39,840 --> 00:35:41,340
So that's when they go into this
466
00:35:41,430 --> 00:35:43,850
street begging or other, you
467
00:35:43,930 --> 00:35:45,650
know, travelling circuses and
468
00:35:45,720 --> 00:35:51,480
things like that.
469
00:35:51,940 --> 00:35:53,560
Well, owners do♪t need to work.
470
00:35:53,650 --> 00:35:54,820
They can do just fine
471
00:35:54,900 --> 00:35:56,400
not working.
472
00:35:56,480 --> 00:35:59,580
But the fact is, in some senses,
473
00:35:59,650 --> 00:36:01,750
it's a symbiotic relationship
474
00:36:01,820 --> 00:36:04,500
and practically speaking in
475
00:36:04,570 --> 00:36:05,790
Thailand, every elephant has
476
00:36:05,870 --> 00:36:07,460
to take care of at least
477
00:36:07,540 --> 00:36:10,880
one and maybe two extended
478
00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:12,710
human families.
479
00:36:12,790 --> 00:36:13,840
So money is needed.
480
00:36:13,920 --> 00:36:15,540
(♪♪♪)
481
00:36:27,890 --> 00:36:32,890
(♪♪♪)
482
00:37:13,850 --> 00:37:18,850
(♪♪♪)
483
00:37:31,490 --> 00:37:32,840
>> We hear a lot, like,
484
00:37:32,910 --> 00:37:34,880
say from animal right's people
485
00:37:34,960 --> 00:37:36,830
saying, you know, If you go to
486
00:37:36,920 --> 00:37:38,590
Thailand, do♪t go to an
487
00:37:38,670 --> 00:37:39,840
elephant show, do♪t take an
488
00:37:39,920 --> 00:37:40,970
elephant ride.
489
00:37:41,050 --> 00:37:42,670
It's demeaning to the elephant.
490
00:37:42,760 --> 00:37:43,760
It's dangerous to the elephant,
491
00:37:43,840 --> 00:37:44,890
et cetera, et cetera.
492
00:37:44,970 --> 00:37:47,970
What they do♪t realize is that
493
00:37:48,050 --> 00:37:49,900
it's the only legal form of work
494
00:37:49,970 --> 00:37:52,690
in Thailand.
495
00:37:53,770 --> 00:37:54,860
(♪♪♪)
496
00:37:55,940 --> 00:37:56,900
>> Narrator: Under the Draft
497
00:37:56,980 --> 00:37:59,570
Animal Act of 1939,
498
00:37:59,650 --> 00:38:00,900
captive elephants have to be
499
00:38:00,980 --> 00:38:01,980
registered when they are
500
00:38:02,070 --> 00:38:04,440
8 years old.
501
00:38:04,530 --> 00:38:05,740
This is a loophole that enables
502
00:38:05,820 --> 00:38:07,490
young elephants caught from the
503
00:38:07,570 --> 00:38:09,620
wild to be laundered into the
504
00:38:09,700 --> 00:38:11,700
tourism industry with phony
505
00:38:11,790 --> 00:38:15,460
registration papers.
506
00:38:15,540 --> 00:38:16,630
>> Captive elephants, or so
507
00:38:16,710 --> 00:38:18,710
called domestic elephants,
508
00:38:18,790 --> 00:38:20,640
come under the jurisdiction of
509
00:38:20,710 --> 00:38:23,090
the transport law as beasts
510
00:38:23,510 --> 00:38:24,630
of burden.
511
00:38:24,710 --> 00:38:25,930
And this is a law that dates
512
00:38:26,010 --> 00:38:29,180
from the 1920s or 1930s and is
513
00:38:29,550 --> 00:38:32,900
completely outdated.
514
00:38:32,970 --> 00:38:35,070
The problem with this is it does
515
00:38:35,140 --> 00:38:39,490
provide a number of loopholes,
516
00:38:39,560 --> 00:38:41,030
so it's very easy to illegally
517
00:38:41,110 --> 00:38:43,570
smuggle an elephant from a
518
00:38:43,650 --> 00:38:44,740
neighbouring country or steal
519
00:38:44,820 --> 00:38:46,570
one from the forest.
520
00:38:46,650 --> 00:38:47,750
You've got several years to
521
00:38:47,820 --> 00:38:49,740
train it.
522
00:38:49,820 --> 00:38:51,040
You do♪t actually have to prove
523
00:38:51,120 --> 00:38:52,740
where it was born.
524
00:38:52,830 --> 00:38:54,040
You do♪t have to demonstrate
525
00:38:54,120 --> 00:38:54,870
which elephants where
526
00:38:54,950 --> 00:38:57,130
it's parents.
527
00:38:57,750 --> 00:39:00,130
(♪♪♪)
528
00:39:15,890 --> 00:39:16,940
>> 90% of those animals
529
00:39:17,020 --> 00:39:20,570
are privately owned.
530
00:39:20,650 --> 00:39:21,940
Privately owned.
531
00:39:22,020 --> 00:39:23,990
And this is, well,
532
00:39:24,070 --> 00:39:25,740
it is officially an
533
00:39:25,820 --> 00:39:28,540
endangered species.
534
00:39:28,610 --> 00:39:30,160
It's an extremely bizarre
535
00:39:30,570 --> 00:39:33,670
situation where you have this
536
00:39:33,740 --> 00:39:35,740
big dangerous endangered species
537
00:39:35,830 --> 00:39:44,960
in private homes.
538
00:39:50,970 --> 00:39:51,890
>> Narrator: The human need to
539
00:39:51,970 --> 00:39:55,190
expand has changed the landscape
540
00:39:55,640 --> 00:40:01,900
of the illegal elephant camp.
541
00:40:01,980 --> 00:40:03,570
Even Uncle Saweang's
542
00:40:03,650 --> 00:40:04,900
street elephants have lost
543
00:40:04,980 --> 00:40:07,910
their habitat.
544
00:40:07,980 --> 00:40:08,910
Finding a new hideaway will
545
00:40:08,990 --> 00:40:12,990
be a challenge.
546
00:40:13,070 --> 00:40:14,750
Even if he wanted to return to
547
00:40:14,820 --> 00:40:17,000
his home and take up farming,
548
00:40:17,080 --> 00:40:20,920
Uncle Saweang cannot.
549
00:40:21,000 --> 00:40:21,920
He had to mortgage the family's
550
00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:28,100
land to buy his own elephants.
551
00:40:28,170 --> 00:40:29,920
And to make ends meet, he has
552
00:40:30,010 --> 00:40:31,130
rented elephants from other
553
00:40:31,220 --> 00:40:38,720
owners to increase his revenue.
554
00:40:38,810 --> 00:40:40,730
Because he is so deeply in debt
555
00:40:40,810 --> 00:40:42,060
Uncle Saweang has little choice
556
00:40:42,140 --> 00:40:45,690
but to keep going.
557
00:40:48,820 --> 00:40:50,690
(♪♪♪)
558
00:41:18,890 --> 00:41:19,940
>> A lot of the elephants
559
00:41:20,010 --> 00:41:20,980
that you find in the streets
560
00:41:21,060 --> 00:41:23,900
of Bangkok now are essentially
561
00:41:23,980 --> 00:41:25,900
rental elephants.
562
00:41:25,980 --> 00:41:30,160
They're the Asian equivalent of
563
00:41:30,230 --> 00:41:33,910
Hertz rent an elephant.
564
00:41:33,990 --> 00:41:34,910
Hey, if it's your own elephants
565
00:41:34,990 --> 00:41:35,910
you're gonna be careful of it in
566
00:41:35,990 --> 00:41:37,910
traffic, you're gonna make sure
567
00:41:37,990 --> 00:41:40,160
that it gets natural foods, the
568
00:41:40,240 --> 00:41:42,340
health of the elephant is gonna
569
00:41:42,750 --> 00:41:43,840
be paramount to the dollars
570
00:41:43,910 --> 00:41:46,090
that come in.
571
00:41:46,170 --> 00:41:47,340
But that formula changes
572
00:41:47,750 --> 00:41:49,090
somewhat if everybody is
573
00:41:49,170 --> 00:41:50,090
around the elephant.
574
00:41:50,170 --> 00:41:51,220
Everybody that's bringing that
575
00:41:51,300 --> 00:41:53,010
elephant into Bangkok.
576
00:41:53,090 --> 00:41:58,350
It's not my elephant.
577
00:41:59,100 --> 00:41:59,940
They have to watch out
578
00:42:00,050 --> 00:42:00,680
to some extent because
579
00:42:00,760 --> 00:42:01,360
they're still going to be
580
00:42:01,430 --> 00:42:02,980
responsible to that owner,
581
00:42:03,060 --> 00:42:03,980
who is, you know,
582
00:42:04,020 --> 00:42:06,940
often the equivalent of
583
00:42:07,020 --> 00:42:09,820
charitably a big businessman
584
00:42:09,900 --> 00:42:12,900
but less charitably often
585
00:42:12,980 --> 00:42:14,990
a kind of a --
586
00:42:15,070 --> 00:42:17,910
I would♪t say mafia but a,
587
00:42:17,990 --> 00:42:23,840
you know, a local power lord.
588
00:42:24,330 --> 00:42:34,010
(♪♪♪)
589
00:42:35,050 --> 00:42:35,970
>> Narrator: A street begging
590
00:42:36,050 --> 00:42:37,350
elephant makes about
591
00:42:37,760 --> 00:42:40,100
$200 per night.
592
00:42:40,180 --> 00:42:40,930
This business makes a lot
593
00:42:41,010 --> 00:42:43,890
of money.
594
00:42:44,970 --> 00:42:51,980
(♪♪♪)
595
00:42:52,980 --> 00:42:54,030
>> Narrator: Whether it's for
596
00:42:54,110 --> 00:42:56,080
love, or pity, or even
597
00:42:56,150 --> 00:42:59,200
just curiosity, people will
598
00:42:59,280 --> 00:43:01,080
always pay money to see the
599
00:43:01,160 --> 00:43:05,130
elephants perform.
600
00:43:05,200 --> 00:43:06,920
And the elephants have no choice
601
00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:12,250
but to go along with the deal.
602
00:43:13,250 --> 00:43:18,250
(♪♪♪)
603
00:43:31,060 --> 00:43:31,980
>> I mean the problem is,
604
00:43:32,060 --> 00:43:33,060
you know, people right now
605
00:43:33,150 --> 00:43:34,770
have a reverence and a love
606
00:43:34,860 --> 00:43:36,200
for elephants.
607
00:43:36,280 --> 00:43:37,780
It may not be expressed in the
608
00:43:37,860 --> 00:43:38,360
right We)'-
609
00:43:38,820 --> 00:43:39,790
I mean, this street begging,
610
00:43:39,860 --> 00:43:41,160
for example, because people have
611
00:43:41,240 --> 00:43:43,040
that reverence then they buy a
612
00:43:43,120 --> 00:43:45,080
pineapple, they buy a banana too
613
00:43:45,160 --> 00:43:47,330
-- to feed the elephant.
614
00:43:47,410 --> 00:43:49,790
That's not helping in the long
615
00:43:49,870 --> 00:43:53,130
term really.
616
00:43:54,090 --> 00:43:59,390
(♪♪♪)
617
00:44:00,050 --> 00:44:01,270
>> They really know what
618
00:44:01,340 --> 00:44:02,390
a job is.
619
00:44:02,470 --> 00:44:04,060
If you set them to do something,
620
00:44:04,140 --> 00:44:08,230
it could be as real and earnest
621
00:44:08,310 --> 00:44:12,060
as dragging a I09 "
622
00:44:12,900 --> 00:44:17,900
[elephants trumpeting]
623
00:44:33,080 --> 00:44:34,250
>> -- Or as trivial as making
624
00:44:34,330 --> 00:44:37,010
a painting.
625
00:44:37,090 --> 00:44:38,130
They know what a job is.
626
00:44:38,210 --> 00:44:40,060
They know about the beginning of
627
00:44:40,130 --> 00:44:43,260
a job, the end of a job.
628
00:44:43,340 --> 00:44:45,140
So you end up with these
629
00:44:45,220 --> 00:44:47,220
almost contractual relationships
630
00:44:47,310 --> 00:44:50,150
with them.
631
00:44:50,220 --> 00:44:56,150
[man shouting]
632
00:44:56,230 --> 00:44:57,110
>> The standard thought when you
633
00:44:57,190 --> 00:45:00,410
think of domesticated elephants,
634
00:45:00,480 --> 00:45:01,950
how did it ever happen?
635
00:45:02,030 --> 00:45:05,500
And most people go, Gee, how did
636
00:45:05,950 --> 00:45:09,040
man, such a puny little species,
637
00:45:09,120 --> 00:45:11,290
tame this beast.
638
00:45:11,370 --> 00:45:13,090
This -- you know, 10- 11-
639
00:45:13,160 --> 00:45:17,340
12-foot tall at the shoulder.
640
00:45:18,250 --> 00:45:22,220
(♪♪♪)
641
00:45:23,260 --> 00:45:24,510
>> Narrator: Many people believe
642
00:45:24,930 --> 00:45:25,970
that to teach the elephants
643
00:45:26,050 --> 00:45:28,520
to obey humans, requires
644
00:45:28,930 --> 00:45:30,060
the breaking of the
645
00:45:30,140 --> 00:45:34,240
animal's spirit.
646
00:45:34,310 --> 00:45:36,560
This northern Thai ceremony,
647
00:45:36,980 --> 00:45:38,570
known as the phajaan, is
648
00:45:38,980 --> 00:45:40,200
performed when separating the
649
00:45:40,270 --> 00:45:43,030
calf from it's mother.
650
00:45:43,110 --> 00:45:44,110
It's believed that the ceremony
651
00:45:44,200 --> 00:45:45,990
severs their bonds so that the
652
00:45:46,070 --> 00:45:47,540
calf will accept dominance
653
00:45:47,950 --> 00:45:51,540
from humans.
654
00:45:51,950 --> 00:45:53,050
This tradition is not easily
655
00:45:53,120 --> 00:45:55,420
understood.
656
00:45:55,500 --> 00:45:58,090
No one likes to talk about it.
657
00:45:58,290 --> 00:46:02,010
(♪♪♪)
658
00:46:02,550 --> 00:46:04,420
elephants have been subjected
659
00:46:04,510 --> 00:46:06,260
to something similar.
660
00:46:07,180 --> 00:46:09,270
(♪♪♪)
661
00:46:11,310 --> 00:46:12,430
>> Perhaps it's because
662
00:46:12,520 --> 00:46:14,270
elephants do♪t forget.
663
00:46:14,310 --> 00:46:16,110
That respect for this dominance
664
00:46:16,190 --> 00:46:19,030
stays with them, usually, but
665
00:46:19,110 --> 00:46:24,080
not always forever.
666
00:46:34,120 --> 00:46:35,500
>> Remember, the males are just
667
00:46:35,580 --> 00:46:38,250
stone killers and why not?
668
00:46:38,330 --> 00:46:40,050
I would hope if I were in their
669
00:46:40,130 --> 00:46:43,260
situation I would be that way.
670
00:46:43,340 --> 00:46:44,130
I do♪t want to be kept
671
00:46:44,170 --> 00:46:48,300
in chains.
672
00:46:48,380 --> 00:46:49,480
Deep inside --
673
00:46:49,550 --> 00:46:51,050
genetically, behaviorally --
674
00:46:51,140 --> 00:46:52,260
they're a wild animal.
675
00:46:52,350 --> 00:46:53,470
Pure and simple.
676
00:46:53,560 --> 00:46:55,020
Therefore, they're exceedingly
677
00:46:55,100 --> 00:46:58,020
dangerous.
678
00:46:58,100 --> 00:46:59,070
If somebody captured you and put
679
00:46:59,150 --> 00:47:00,240
a chain around your foot and
680
00:47:00,310 --> 00:47:01,360
kept you in a room and
681
00:47:01,440 --> 00:47:04,110
funneled food into you, and
682
00:47:04,190 --> 00:47:06,240
there was any chance of your
683
00:47:06,320 --> 00:47:08,070
getting back at your captor,
684
00:47:08,150 --> 00:47:10,370
would you do so?
685
00:47:10,450 --> 00:47:12,250
Certainly would.
686
00:47:12,330 --> 00:47:13,080
That's why elephants
687
00:47:13,160 --> 00:47:15,630
kill people.
688
00:47:16,000 --> 00:47:17,040
They do♪t want to be
689
00:47:17,120 --> 00:47:19,170
where they are.
690
00:47:19,370 --> 00:47:22,250
(♪♪♪)
691
00:47:23,170 --> 00:47:24,090
>> A mahout's relationship
692
00:47:24,170 --> 00:47:25,260
with his own elephant is
693
00:47:25,340 --> 00:47:29,090
often a lifelong bond.
694
00:47:29,180 --> 00:47:30,050
But throughout the years that
695
00:47:30,130 --> 00:47:31,640
they live and work together,
696
00:47:32,050 --> 00:47:34,270
does a mahout's ever really know
697
00:47:34,350 --> 00:47:38,150
what his elephant is thinking?
698
00:47:38,230 --> 00:47:41,150
Every elephant is different.
699
00:47:41,230 --> 00:47:42,230
Working with someone else's
700
00:47:42,310 --> 00:47:46,410
elephant can be very risky.
701
00:47:46,480 --> 00:47:48,030
Such was the case with
702
00:47:48,110 --> 00:47:50,160
Wok's cousin, Sawai,
703
00:47:50,280 --> 00:47:53,410
the son of Uncle Saweang.
704
00:47:53,490 --> 00:47:55,540
One day, he had to take care of
705
00:47:55,620 --> 00:47:58,500
someone else's elephant.
706
00:47:58,580 --> 00:48:00,080
It was an elephant who may have
707
00:48:00,160 --> 00:48:03,420
wanted revenge.
708
00:49:07,650 --> 00:49:10,400
(MI)
709
00:49:25,500 --> 00:49:28,500
(♪♪♪)
710
00:49:54,490 --> 00:49:59,490
(♪♪♪)
711
00:50:20,550 --> 00:50:21,850
>> People often refer to them as
712
00:50:22,220 --> 00:50:24,270
domesticated elephants in which
713
00:50:24,350 --> 00:50:25,730
they're not, you know.
714
00:50:25,810 --> 00:50:27,560
Dogs and cats are domesticated
715
00:50:27,650 --> 00:50:29,690
because we've selectively bred
716
00:50:29,770 --> 00:50:31,190
them over generations and
717
00:50:31,270 --> 00:50:34,370
generations for specific traits.
718
00:50:34,440 --> 00:50:36,700
Nobody has ever selectively bred
719
00:50:36,780 --> 00:50:38,700
elephants over generations and
720
00:50:38,780 --> 00:50:40,250
generations so they are
721
00:50:40,320 --> 00:50:43,750
essentially still wild elephants
722
00:50:43,830 --> 00:50:47,670
in captivity.
723
00:50:48,500 --> 00:50:53,500
(♪♪♪)
724
00:52:02,820 --> 00:52:06,750
(♪♪♪)
725
00:52:06,830 --> 00:52:07,790
>> Narrator: The elephant is
726
00:52:07,870 --> 00:52:11,340
truly a super keystone species.
727
00:52:11,420 --> 00:52:12,590
The living species that takes
728
00:52:12,670 --> 00:52:15,550
care of the forest, and the
729
00:52:15,630 --> 00:52:18,510
reason that Asia has these
730
00:52:18,590 --> 00:52:22,770
lovely tropical forests is
731
00:52:22,840 --> 00:52:24,850
because elephants worked on them
732
00:52:24,930 --> 00:52:28,900
for 20 million years.
733
00:52:28,970 --> 00:52:30,820
And that's why we've these lush,
734
00:52:30,890 --> 00:52:32,940
you know, forests.
735
00:52:33,310 --> 00:52:34,310
Well, we had.
736
00:52:34,400 --> 00:52:36,820
Now, people have started to
737
00:52:36,900 --> 00:52:39,780
outgrow most living things and
738
00:52:39,860 --> 00:52:44,490
started to invade their spaces.
739
00:52:45,370 --> 00:52:50,370
(♪♪♪)
740
00:53:04,010 --> 00:53:06,430
>> Why do♪t we just let them
741
00:53:06,510 --> 00:53:10,520
all go back to the wild?
742
00:53:10,600 --> 00:53:11,820
The scientist term for that is
743
00:53:11,890 --> 00:53:12,810
reintroduction.
744
00:53:12,890 --> 00:53:15,570
To introduce back into the
745
00:53:15,650 --> 00:53:18,820
wilderness, and domesticated
746
00:53:18,900 --> 00:53:20,740
elephants are superb candidates
747
00:53:20,820 --> 00:53:22,740
to be rereleased back into
748
00:53:22,820 --> 00:53:24,660
the wild.
749
00:53:24,740 --> 00:53:26,540
And at that level, I mean,
750
00:53:26,620 --> 00:53:29,490
if it was possible to do so
751
00:53:29,580 --> 00:53:30,920
and there was a button on the
752
00:53:30,990 --> 00:53:31,920
wall that said,
753
00:53:32,000 --> 00:53:33,710
release all elephants,
754
00:53:33,790 --> 00:53:35,920
I would do it in a moment.
755
00:53:36,000 --> 00:53:36,880
Even though it would put me
756
00:53:36,960 --> 00:53:41,810
out of a job.
757
00:53:41,880 --> 00:53:42,630
>> Narrator: There is one
758
00:53:42,670 --> 00:53:43,670
organization that is trying to
759
00:53:43,760 --> 00:53:46,810
do just that.
760
00:53:46,890 --> 00:53:48,010
The Elephant Reintroduction
761
00:53:48,430 --> 00:53:50,560
Foundation of Thailand has been
762
00:53:50,640 --> 00:53:51,860
reintroducing captive elephants
763
00:53:51,930 --> 00:53:52,900
back to the
764
00:53:52,980 --> 00:53:54,940
forest since 2002.
765
00:53:59,860 --> 00:54:02,580
It is an unprecedented project
766
00:54:02,650 --> 00:54:03,950
initiated by her Majesty Queen
767
00:54:04,030 --> 00:54:05,900
Surikit of Thailand.
768
00:54:05,990 --> 00:54:07,460
Not only to help protect the
769
00:54:07,530 --> 00:54:10,710
natio♪s endangered elephants,
770
00:54:10,780 --> 00:54:12,830
but also to help regenerate
771
00:54:12,910 --> 00:54:15,410
the forests.
772
00:54:15,500 --> 00:54:16,590
There have been over 90
773
00:54:16,670 --> 00:54:19,970
elephants released here.
774
00:54:20,920 --> 00:54:21,890
(♪♪♪)
775
00:54:22,670 --> 00:54:23,510
>> By bringing the captive
776
00:54:23,590 --> 00:54:25,970
elephants back into the wild,
777
00:54:26,050 --> 00:54:27,550
reintroducing them into
778
00:54:27,630 --> 00:54:29,760
their natural habitat,
779
00:54:29,850 --> 00:54:31,890
we are trying to help
780
00:54:31,970 --> 00:54:36,980
preserve them from extinction.
781
00:54:37,060 --> 00:54:39,900
Reintroducing them into the
782
00:54:39,980 --> 00:54:42,730
natural habitat is only 50%
783
00:54:42,820 --> 00:54:45,700
of our work.
784
00:54:45,780 --> 00:54:47,830
The other 50% is to have them
785
00:54:47,910 --> 00:54:51,660
successfully reproduce so that
786
00:54:51,740 --> 00:54:54,590
the number of births equal at
787
00:54:54,660 --> 00:54:55,910
least the number of elephant
788
00:54:56,000 --> 00:54:59,590
deaths per year.
789
00:54:59,670 --> 00:55:02,890
Only when that can be done, we
790
00:55:02,960 --> 00:55:04,930
can say we are saving the
791
00:55:05,010 --> 00:55:08,890
elephant from extinction.
792
00:55:08,970 --> 00:55:11,970
(♪♪♪)
793
00:55:18,810 --> 00:55:19,730
>> Narrator: With fewer areas
794
00:55:19,810 --> 00:55:21,560
to roam freely and the
795
00:55:21,650 --> 00:55:23,870
impacts of poaching, the wild
796
00:55:23,940 --> 00:55:25,780
elephant population could be
797
00:55:25,860 --> 00:55:30,080
extinct in 30 years.
798
00:55:30,910 --> 00:55:35,910
(♪♪♪)
799
00:55:59,940 --> 00:56:01,730
>> Narrator: Discouraged by the
800
00:56:01,810 --> 00:56:02,730
hardships of the elephant
801
00:56:02,810 --> 00:56:04,860
business, Wok takes Nong Mai
802
00:56:04,940 --> 00:56:07,780
home with hopes of starting
803
00:56:07,860 --> 00:56:10,700
a new life.
804
00:56:48,650 --> 00:56:53,780
[birds chirping]
805
00:56:53,950 --> 00:56:54,910
>> Narrator: it did♪t take
806
00:56:54,990 --> 00:56:56,620
long for Wok to settle back
807
00:56:56,700 --> 00:56:58,000
into the simple routines he
808
00:56:58,080 --> 00:57:00,920
grew up with.
809
00:57:01,000 --> 00:57:02,040
But keeping Nong Mai in the
810
00:57:02,120 --> 00:57:06,970
village was just not that easy.
811
00:57:07,670 --> 00:57:09,220
(♪♪♪)
812
00:57:09,630 --> 00:57:10,050
♪ I know I said the
813
00:57:10,130 --> 00:57:15,180
right thing this time.
814
00:57:15,640 --> 00:57:17,680
I've weighed it down a thousand
815
00:57:17,760 --> 00:57:21,690
times in my mind.
816
00:57:21,770 --> 00:57:23,610
Just want to be your good
817
00:57:23,690 --> 00:57:27,910
love again.
818
00:57:27,980 --> 00:57:31,910
I thought that you would be mine
819
00:57:31,990 --> 00:57:34,160
until the end.
820
00:57:34,240 --> 00:57:37,240
The end of my pain.
821
00:57:37,660 --> 00:57:40,750
The end of the rain.
822
00:57:40,830 --> 00:57:44,920
The end of the line once
823
00:57:45,000 --> 00:57:46,920
every time.
824
00:57:47,000 --> 00:57:49,920
The end of my day.
825
00:57:50,000 --> 00:57:56,680
Hoped you would be the end of my
826
00:57:56,760 --> 00:58:01,060
one again ♪
827
00:58:01,140 --> 00:58:06,140
(♪♪♪)
828
00:58:27,290 --> 00:58:28,790
♪ And now, I want to
829
00:58:28,880 --> 00:58:34,010
do the right thing in time.
830
00:58:34,090 --> 00:58:35,720
I want to know how to make you
831
00:58:35,800 --> 00:58:40,730
lovesick because I'm trying.
832
00:58:40,800 --> 00:58:42,770
Just want to be your good
833
00:58:42,850 --> 00:58:46,940
love again.
834
00:58:47,020 --> 00:58:50,900
I hoped that would be mine
835
00:58:50,980 --> 00:58:52,950
until the bitter end.
836
00:58:53,030 --> 00:58:56,150
The end of my pain.
837
00:58:56,240 --> 00:58:59,740
The end of the rain.
838
00:58:59,820 --> 00:59:05,960
The end of line until it's time.
839
00:59:06,040 --> 00:59:08,960
The end of my day.
840
00:59:09,040 --> 00:59:14,260
I hoped you would be the end of
841
00:59:14,340 --> 00:59:19,810
my wandering again.
842
00:59:19,890 --> 00:59:26,990
The end of my wandering again.
843
00:59:28,020 --> 00:59:33,020
(♪♪♪)
844
01:01:02,030 --> 01:01:03,330
(♪♪♪)
845
01:01:04,320 --> 01:01:05,370
>> Narrator: Life for Wok's
846
01:01:05,450 --> 01:01:08,870
family was changing.
847
01:01:08,950 --> 01:01:10,080
The chores of elephant keeping
848
01:01:10,160 --> 01:01:11,880
were being replaced by new
849
01:01:11,960 --> 01:01:17,510
opportunities in farming.
850
01:01:17,880 --> 01:01:20,010
But for Nong Mai, farm life had
851
01:01:20,090 --> 01:01:22,180
some problems.
852
01:02:18,360 --> 01:02:23,360
(♪♪♪)
853
01:02:40,500 --> 01:02:41,470
>> Narrator: Wok decides he must
854
01:02:41,540 --> 01:02:42,920
return to street begging with
855
01:02:43,000 --> 01:02:52,110
Nong Mai to make some money.
856
01:02:52,180 --> 01:02:53,180
It is customary for the Guay to
857
01:02:53,270 --> 01:02:55,940
pray to the spirits before an
858
01:02:56,020 --> 01:03:02,070
elephant and mahout leave home.
859
01:03:02,150 --> 01:03:03,070
Grandmother makes an offering to
860
01:03:03,150 --> 01:03:05,240
bless and hopefully protect Nong
861
01:03:05,320 --> 01:03:09,320
Mai and Wok from harm.
862
01:03:10,070 --> 01:03:15,070
(♪♪♪)
863
01:03:25,170 --> 01:03:30,170
[elephants trumpeting]
864
01:04:15,180 --> 01:04:23,490
[engine starting]
865
01:04:48,340 --> 01:04:50,340
(♪♪♪)
866
01:04:50,420 --> 01:04:54,600
♪ It does♪t hurt me.
867
01:04:54,680 --> 01:04:56,220
Do you want to feel
868
01:04:56,300 --> 01:04:59,600
how it feels?
869
01:04:59,680 --> 01:05:00,650
You want to know,
870
01:05:01,100 --> 01:05:05,230
know that it does♪t hurt me.
871
01:05:05,310 --> 01:05:07,070
Do you want to hear about the
872
01:05:07,150 --> 01:05:10,570
deal I'm making?
873
01:05:10,650 --> 01:05:16,080
You.
874
01:05:16,160 --> 01:05:20,630
You and me.
875
01:05:20,700 --> 01:05:23,130
And if I only could,
876
01:05:23,210 --> 01:05:25,380
make a deal with God,
877
01:05:25,460 --> 01:05:30,090
I'd get him to swap our places.
878
01:05:30,170 --> 01:05:32,390
Be running up that road,
879
01:05:32,470 --> 01:05:35,140
be running up that hill,
880
01:05:35,220 --> 01:05:40,730
be running up that building.
881
01:05:41,180 --> 01:05:49,110
If I only could, oh.
882
01:05:49,190 --> 01:05:53,070
You do♪t want to hurt me.
883
01:05:53,150 --> 01:05:54,080
But see how deep the
884
01:05:54,150 --> 01:05:58,410
bullet lies.
885
01:05:58,490 --> 01:06:00,080
Unaware that I'm tearing
886
01:06:00,160 --> 01:06:04,210
you asunder.
887
01:06:04,210 --> 01:06:07,130
There's a thunder in our hearts,
888
01:06:07,210 --> 01:06:09,130
baby.
889
01:06:09,210 --> 01:06:10,430
So much hate for the
890
01:06:10,500 --> 01:06:14,470
ones we love.
891
01:06:14,550 --> 01:06:17,640
Tell me we both matter,
892
01:06:17,720 --> 01:06:20,140
do♪t we?
893
01:06:20,220 --> 01:06:25,230
You.
894
01:06:25,310 --> 01:06:30,410
You and me.
895
01:06:30,480 --> 01:06:35,410
You and me wo♪t be unhappy.
896
01:06:35,490 --> 01:06:37,710
If I only could make
897
01:06:37,780 --> 01:06:40,330
a deal with God,
898
01:06:40,410 --> 01:06:42,160
I'd get him to swap
899
01:06:42,240 --> 01:06:44,590
our places.
900
01:06:44,660 --> 01:06:46,760
Be running up that road,
901
01:06:46,830 --> 01:06:49,580
be running up that hill, be
902
01:06:49,670 --> 01:06:54,760
running up that building.
903
01:06:54,840 --> 01:06:58,310
Be running up that hill
904
01:06:58,380 --> 01:07:00,430
if I could.
905
01:07:00,510 --> 01:07:03,230
Be running up that hill
906
01:07:03,310 --> 01:07:05,560
if I could.
907
01:07:05,640 --> 01:07:08,360
Be running up that hill
908
01:07:08,440 --> 01:07:10,730
if I could.
909
01:07:10,810 --> 01:07:13,690
Be running up that hill
910
01:07:13,780 --> 01:07:16,570
if I could ♪
911
01:07:16,650 --> 01:07:21,650
(♪♪♪)
912
01:07:42,680 --> 01:07:47,680
(♪♪♪)
913
01:08:39,820 --> 01:08:42,620
[cow mooing]
914
01:08:43,820 --> 01:08:46,500
[dog barking]
915
01:08:47,330 --> 01:08:52,330
(♪♪♪)
916
01:10:00,940 --> 01:10:05,940
[elephants trumpeting]
917
01:10:13,540 --> 01:10:14,760
>> Narrator: Nong Mail has no
918
01:10:14,830 --> 01:10:15,630
way of know that she is not
919
01:10:15,710 --> 01:10:19,880
returning to the city.
920
01:10:19,960 --> 01:10:21,680
An usual buyer has
921
01:10:21,750 --> 01:10:22,880
made an offer that will change
922
01:10:22,960 --> 01:10:29,810
Nong Mai's fate forever.
923
01:10:29,890 --> 01:10:30,930
She will never have to ride in a
924
01:10:31,010 --> 01:10:33,860
truck again.
925
01:10:37,400 --> 01:10:42,740
(♪♪♪)
926
01:11:00,670 --> 01:11:05,670
(♪♪♪)
927
01:11:20,900 --> 01:11:21,770
>> Narrator: Far from the
928
01:11:21,860 --> 01:11:25,450
human world, a baby elephant
929
01:11:25,530 --> 01:11:26,990
in the wild will remember the
930
01:11:27,070 --> 01:11:28,910
smells and sounds of the forest
931
01:11:28,990 --> 01:11:33,080
for her lifetime.
932
01:11:33,490 --> 01:11:34,840
It's these memories that help
933
01:11:34,910 --> 01:11:40,880
her survive.
934
01:11:40,960 --> 01:11:41,880
As a captive elephant for
935
01:11:41,960 --> 01:11:44,930
half her life, what memories
936
01:11:45,000 --> 01:11:45,970
might help Nong Mai
937
01:11:46,050 --> 01:11:52,900
survive in this forest?
938
01:11:52,970 --> 01:11:54,020
She was released by the Elephant
939
01:11:54,100 --> 01:11:57,600
Reintroduction Foundation,
940
01:11:57,680 --> 01:11:58,680
and this was much more than just
941
01:11:58,770 --> 01:12:05,740
setting her free in the forest.
942
01:12:05,820 --> 01:12:07,620
Not every captive elephant is
943
01:12:07,690 --> 01:12:08,870
well-suited to be returned
944
01:12:08,950 --> 01:12:12,500
to the wild.
945
01:12:12,570 --> 01:12:13,570
An elephant suitable for
946
01:12:13,660 --> 01:12:14,750
release must be healthy
947
01:12:14,830 --> 01:12:16,000
and strong.
948
01:12:16,080 --> 01:12:17,830
It can take time for them
949
01:12:17,950 --> 01:12:19,080
to readapt to a life
950
01:12:19,160 --> 01:12:23,920
without humans.
951
01:12:24,000 --> 01:12:24,920
But Nong Mai was the
952
01:12:25,000 --> 01:12:27,760
perfect candidate.
953
01:12:27,840 --> 01:12:29,090
And she had no trouble adjusting
954
01:12:29,170 --> 01:12:35,180
to the freedom of the forest.
955
01:12:35,600 --> 01:12:36,970
It took only a few hours for her
956
01:12:37,060 --> 01:12:39,810
to find a friend.
957
01:12:40,940 --> 01:12:45,940
(♪♪♪)
958
01:12:55,160 --> 01:12:58,160
It was Pompang, an older
959
01:12:58,580 --> 01:13:00,580
reintroduced female who bonded
960
01:13:00,660 --> 01:13:05,660
with her immediately.
961
01:13:13,970 --> 01:13:15,060
Elephants, especially family
962
01:13:15,140 --> 01:13:16,640
elephants, live in cooperative
963
01:13:16,720 --> 01:13:18,100
social groups to help each
964
01:13:18,180 --> 01:13:21,560
other survive.
965
01:13:21,640 --> 01:13:22,810
Nong Mai became part of this
966
01:13:22,890 --> 01:13:24,940
family of formally-captive
967
01:13:25,020 --> 01:13:31,120
elephants.
968
01:13:31,190 --> 01:13:32,190
She learned from the others
969
01:13:32,650 --> 01:13:34,620
about which plants to eat and
970
01:13:34,700 --> 01:13:38,830
where to find them.
971
01:13:38,910 --> 01:13:39,910
Asian elephants have a very
972
01:13:39,990 --> 01:13:42,840
important role in nature as they
973
01:13:42,910 --> 01:13:44,880
roam the forest, elephants
974
01:13:44,960 --> 01:13:47,930
disperse seeds in their dung.
975
01:13:48,000 --> 01:13:49,930
Especially seeds too heavy to
976
01:13:50,000 --> 01:13:53,100
travel any other way.
977
01:13:53,170 --> 01:13:54,930
They open clearings to enable
978
01:13:55,010 --> 01:13:58,100
sunlight for new plants.
979
01:13:58,180 --> 01:13:59,930
They create trails that serve as
980
01:14:00,060 --> 01:14:05,230
highways for all other animals.
981
01:14:05,650 --> 01:14:07,240
They are an essential part of
982
01:14:07,650 --> 01:14:12,740
building biodiversity.
983
01:14:12,990 --> 01:14:20,840
(♪♪♪)
984
01:14:20,990 --> 01:14:21,870
>> Narrator: Elephants
985
01:14:21,950 --> 01:14:22,920
communicate with each other in
986
01:14:23,000 --> 01:14:25,920
many different ways.
987
01:14:26,000 --> 01:14:27,120
They speak with a variety of
988
01:14:27,210 --> 01:14:29,630
sounds and subsonic rumbles
989
01:14:29,710 --> 01:14:33,680
which are inaudible to humans.
990
01:14:33,760 --> 01:14:34,970
Their highly sensitive trunks,
991
01:14:35,050 --> 01:14:37,770
which are like the human hand,
992
01:14:37,840 --> 01:14:39,970
are constantly used to smell and
993
01:14:40,050 --> 01:14:43,350
touch other family members.
994
01:14:43,720 --> 01:14:44,730
To share information
995
01:14:44,810 --> 01:14:47,030
and feelings.
996
01:14:47,850 --> 01:14:51,070
(♪♪♪)
997
01:14:51,150 --> 01:14:52,900
>> Narrator: They also give off
998
01:14:52,980 --> 01:14:54,080
chemical signals to express what
999
01:14:54,150 --> 01:14:56,900
they're thinking or feeling.
1000
01:14:56,990 --> 01:14:58,210
This stimulates their superior
1001
01:14:58,280 --> 01:14:59,910
sense of smell that is five
1002
01:15:00,030 --> 01:15:01,910
times more sensitive than the
1003
01:15:01,990 --> 01:15:08,840
human nose.
1004
01:15:08,920 --> 01:15:09,920
>> Elephants, you know, have
1005
01:15:10,000 --> 01:15:12,880
been just another animal to me
1006
01:15:12,960 --> 01:15:14,090
until I found out,
1007
01:15:14,170 --> 01:15:18,050
no, elephants are not animals.
1008
01:15:18,130 --> 01:15:21,860
They are another living species
1009
01:15:21,930 --> 01:15:24,310
very close to human beings
1010
01:15:24,720 --> 01:15:27,900
because they can think,
1011
01:15:27,980 --> 01:15:29,700
they have emotions,
1012
01:15:29,770 --> 01:15:30,820
they can speak,
1013
01:15:30,900 --> 01:15:32,820
they, you know, communicate.
1014
01:15:32,900 --> 01:15:34,900
You know, they have emotions
1015
01:15:34,980 --> 01:15:35,990
that are very close to
1016
01:15:36,070 --> 01:15:38,790
human emotions.
1017
01:15:38,860 --> 01:15:41,740
They also know the self.
1018
01:15:41,820 --> 01:15:44,080
They know who they are.
1019
01:15:44,160 --> 01:15:46,790
The elephant knows that he or
1020
01:15:46,870 --> 01:15:51,220
she exists as an individual.
1021
01:15:51,960 --> 01:15:56,960
(♪♪♪)
1022
01:16:04,010 --> 01:16:04,940
>> Narrator: Nong Mai and
1023
01:16:05,010 --> 01:16:08,940
Pompang have become inseparable.
1024
01:16:09,020 --> 01:16:09,940
Despite the years that they are
1025
01:16:10,020 --> 01:16:11,940
behaviour was shaped by humans,
1026
01:16:12,020 --> 01:16:12,940
they have quickly learned to
1027
01:16:13,020 --> 01:16:14,950
follow their own instincts and
1028
01:16:15,020 --> 01:16:16,990
depend on each other.
1029
01:16:17,940 --> 01:16:19,410
(♪♪♪)
1030
01:16:20,240 --> 01:16:22,160
>> Narrator: These reintroduced
1031
01:16:22,240 --> 01:16:23,080
elephants come from
1032
01:16:23,160 --> 01:16:24,960
many different captive places
1033
01:16:25,030 --> 01:16:26,830
within Thailand and are likely
1034
01:16:26,910 --> 01:16:29,210
not related.
1035
01:16:29,290 --> 01:16:30,790
But they have been able to form
1036
01:16:30,870 --> 01:16:32,920
family groups just like
1037
01:16:33,000 --> 01:16:35,970
wild elephants.
1038
01:16:36,050 --> 01:16:39,170
The sublangka wildlife sanctuary
1039
01:16:39,260 --> 01:16:41,220
is one of three sanctuaries
1040
01:16:41,300 --> 01:16:42,930
where the Elephant
1041
01:16:43,010 --> 01:16:43,980
Reintroduction Foundation has
1042
01:16:44,050 --> 01:16:48,930
released captive elephants.
1043
01:16:49,020 --> 01:16:50,390
These three protected areas
1044
01:16:50,810 --> 01:16:53,060
total almost a half-a-million
1045
01:16:53,150 --> 01:16:57,200
acres of natural habitat.
1046
01:16:57,270 --> 01:16:58,870
>> Most the elephants that we
1047
01:16:58,940 --> 01:17:02,410
have been working with have
1048
01:17:02,820 --> 01:17:03,950
been very happy-
1049
01:17:04,030 --> 01:17:08,910
They are growing old naturally
1050
01:17:08,990 --> 01:17:10,960
in an environment that
1051
01:17:11,040 --> 01:17:13,920
theylove.
1052
01:17:14,000 --> 01:17:21,930
They have grown healthier.
1053
01:17:22,010 --> 01:17:24,060
We are seriously involved in
1054
01:17:24,140 --> 01:17:26,310
trying to have elephants breed
1055
01:17:26,390 --> 01:17:29,140
naturally in these natural
1056
01:17:29,220 --> 01:17:31,940
habitats so that they can,
1057
01:17:32,020 --> 01:17:33,230
you know, self sustain
1058
01:17:33,310 --> 01:17:35,980
the population.
1059
01:17:38,150 --> 01:17:39,400
>> Narrator: While wanting of
1060
01:17:39,820 --> 01:17:40,940
reintroductions to provide a
1061
01:17:41,030 --> 01:17:43,070
better life for elephants,
1062
01:17:43,150 --> 01:17:45,120
the ultimate goal is to
1063
01:17:45,200 --> 01:17:46,950
reestablish self-sustaining
1064
01:17:47,030 --> 01:17:49,960
wild populations in the areas
1065
01:17:50,040 --> 01:17:51,250
where wild elephants used
1066
01:17:51,330 --> 01:17:55,380
to live.
1067
01:17:55,460 --> 01:17:58,340
The true measure of success is
1068
01:17:58,420 --> 01:17:59,890
that they have mated and
1069
01:17:59,960 --> 01:18:05,140
produced wild-born babies.
1070
01:18:05,220 --> 01:18:06,940
In these forests,
1071
01:18:07,010 --> 01:18:10,140
the elephants can be themselves.
1072
01:18:10,220 --> 01:18:11,900
Unlike in the tourist camps
1073
01:18:11,970 --> 01:18:13,940
where many of them come from,
1074
01:18:14,020 --> 01:18:14,990
here there are no tricks to
1075
01:18:15,060 --> 01:18:16,900
perform and there are
1076
01:18:16,980 --> 01:18:19,950
no tourists.
1077
01:18:20,020 --> 01:18:20,900
Since these elephants have been
1078
01:18:20,980 --> 01:18:22,910
released, the forests have
1079
01:18:22,990 --> 01:18:25,030
improved.
1080
01:18:25,110 --> 01:18:27,910
Today, there are 77 reintroduced
1081
01:18:27,990 --> 01:18:29,990
elephants living here, and since
1082
01:18:30,080 --> 01:18:32,290
2011 there have been eight
1083
01:18:32,370 --> 01:18:37,920
elephants born.
1084
01:18:38,000 --> 01:18:39,420
This is one conservation model
1085
01:18:39,500 --> 01:18:41,050
that may provide hope for
1086
01:18:41,130 --> 01:18:44,930
the future.
1087
01:18:45,010 --> 01:18:47,260
And Nong Mai will perhaps have a
1088
01:18:47,340 --> 01:18:51,020
role in this future.
1089
01:18:51,390 --> 01:18:58,020
(♪♪♪)
1090
01:19:00,020 --> 01:19:00,520
>> Narrator: The young
1091
01:19:00,940 --> 01:19:03,410
elephants born here might never
1092
01:19:03,480 --> 01:19:05,950
know what it is like to walk
1093
01:19:06,030 --> 01:19:10,030
in chains.
1094
01:19:10,950 --> 01:19:18,050
(♪♪♪)
1095
01:19:18,120 --> 01:19:21,050
♪ It feels so warm.
1096
01:19:21,130 --> 01:19:25,550
Lying in your mother's arms.
1097
01:19:25,970 --> 01:19:28,470
Nothing can hurt you.
1098
01:19:28,550 --> 01:19:33,520
You're free from harm.
1099
01:19:35,180 --> 01:19:40,180
(♪♪♪)
1100
01:20:58,140 --> 01:21:03,140
(♪♪♪)
1101
01:21:33,550 --> 01:21:34,430
>> Narrator: This is the end
1102
01:21:34,510 --> 01:21:36,430
of the elephant story.
1103
01:21:36,510 --> 01:21:37,260
They are now doing what most
1104
01:21:37,350 --> 01:21:39,350
wild elephants like to do
1105
01:21:39,430 --> 01:21:41,100
which is having nothing
1106
01:21:41,180 --> 01:21:43,150
to do with people.
1107
01:21:47,480 --> 01:21:48,110
>> Oh, she's coming.
1108
01:21:48,150 --> 01:21:49,070
She's coming.
1109
01:21:49,150 --> 01:21:52,070
[elephants trumpeting]
1110
01:21:52,150 --> 01:21:53,370
>> That's Nong Mai in the front.
1111
01:21:53,450 --> 01:21:58,120
[background chatter]
1112
01:21:58,200 --> 01:21:59,670
>> Nong Mai is clearly
1113
01:22:00,120 --> 01:22:02,340
exhibiting a lot of aggression.
1114
01:22:02,410 --> 01:22:03,510
She's become actually a
1115
01:22:03,580 --> 01:22:04,550
bit Wild.
1116
01:22:04,620 --> 01:22:06,090
The big one is Pompang.
1117
01:22:06,170 --> 01:22:07,090
Pompang's actually the
1118
01:22:07,170 --> 01:22:08,090
matriarch.
1119
01:22:08,170 --> 01:22:09,090
All these other elephants that
1120
01:22:09,170 --> 01:22:10,510
are with her with are the
1121
01:22:10,590 --> 01:22:12,090
younger elephants here in
1122
01:22:12,170 --> 01:22:13,090
the sanctuary.
1123
01:22:13,170 --> 01:22:14,270
And they've all kind of formed
1124
01:22:14,340 --> 01:22:17,470
this little herd.
1125
01:22:17,550 --> 01:22:20,150
So Nong Mai is kind of the boss.
1126
01:22:20,220 --> 01:22:21,140
It seems like she really just
1127
01:22:21,220 --> 01:22:22,520
wants us to get out of the way.
1128
01:22:22,600 --> 01:22:25,350
Nong Mai.
1129
01:22:25,440 --> 01:22:28,110
[laughter]
1130
01:22:28,190 --> 01:22:29,060
>> Well, we've seen something
1131
01:22:29,150 --> 01:22:30,070
that we never expected we
1132
01:22:30,150 --> 01:22:31,320
would see.
1133
01:22:31,400 --> 01:22:32,150
>> That was great.
1134
01:22:32,230 --> 01:22:33,110
>> Nong Mai has gone completely
1135
01:22:33,190 --> 01:22:35,320
wild and she's part of a heard
1136
01:22:35,400 --> 01:22:36,660
with Pompang as a leader,
1137
01:22:36,740 --> 01:22:38,410
but then there's three other
1138
01:22:38,490 --> 01:22:39,620
young elephants about her same
1139
01:22:39,700 --> 01:22:41,080
age with her to so there's a
1140
01:22:41,160 --> 01:22:46,290
total of five of them there.
1141
01:22:46,370 --> 01:22:47,170
>> Narrator: They had chased us
1142
01:22:47,210 --> 01:22:49,130
behind that line that now
1143
01:22:49,210 --> 01:22:53,460
divides their world from ours.
1144
01:22:53,550 --> 01:22:56,350
But one stayed behind.
1145
01:22:56,430 --> 01:22:57,600
She was walking out to our human
1146
01:22:57,680 --> 01:23:01,270
world one last time as if to
1147
01:23:01,350 --> 01:23:04,320
show us that our worlds are not
1148
01:23:04,390 --> 01:23:05,810
so different.
1149
01:23:06,140 --> 01:23:07,520
Perhaps she remembers what we
1150
01:23:07,600 --> 01:23:09,730
have forgotten.
1151
01:23:09,810 --> 01:23:12,410
That maybe we are more like each
1152
01:23:12,480 --> 01:23:18,290
other than we realize.
1153
01:23:18,360 --> 01:23:21,790
Or maybe she was just coming to
1154
01:23:22,200 --> 01:23:23,620
gay goodbye.
1155
01:23:24,750 --> 01:23:26,340
(♪♪♪)