February 7, 2008
In January, Lianne and Peter flew from Canada to Kuala Gandah (don't worry... they used their own funds) to see how things were going. Although they have remained involved in the Malaysian Elephant Appeal over these past 7 years, this was the first time they had visited the elephant centre since leaving Malaysia in 2000. They were really impressed with the improvements that have been made there, both on the part of the Malaysian Elephant Appeal (via the Rotary Club of Temerloh) and on the part of Kuala Gandah itself. While they were there, Lianne and Peter consulted with the management at Kuala Gandah, as well as the Malaysian Elephant Appeal volunteers in Kuala Lumpur, to see what other projects the Malaysian Elephant Appeal could do to improve the centre. More details on this will be posted later (photos from Lianne and Peter's trip: a partial view of the elephants in the 1.5 acre enclosure).
September 16, 2007
This summer we met with Siti Hawa, the Director of Conservation at the Department of Wildlife and National Parks and brought her up to date on the Malaysian Elephant Appeal and possible projects for the Kuala Gandah elephant centre. The meeting ended with her promise to set up a meeting with the management of the elephant centre for further discussion. Although this meeting has yet to occur, we have continued our own discussions with Kuala Gandah around what their current needs are. The manager has re-articulated the need for further training for the staff, particularly around elephant handling and best practices with regards to translocations. Given the recent news in Pahang around proposed developments that may result in habitat loss for Asian elephants (NGOs vehemently protested, but it looks like the developments will still be going ahead), the Malaysian Elephant Appeal has tentatively agreed to help make the training happen so that the elephant centre will be prepared to deal with the anticipated influx of elephant translocation requests.
July 14, 2007
Apologies for the lack of updates. If there is one thing we have learned in our 7 years of existence, it is that things take a long time when there are many different stakeholders involved. The good news is that things at Kuala Gandah have improved over the years. Nicole, a New Zealander and one of our former volunteers, was recently in Malaysia and visited Kuala Gandah and said that she was both pleased and impressed at how things have notably gotten better at the centre.
Some things that the Malaysian Elephant Appeal has been up to involve sending out the DVD to our donors and supporters and continuing discussions with the DWNP on the possibility of night stalls for the elephants. We have also got a draft of the next newsletter and will be sending that out shortly. Also, another local Rotary Club, the Rotary Club of Bentong, recently organized a very successful environmental awareness programme and visit to the elephant centre for 50 Interactors (the youth section of the service group) and teachers from Bentong.
March 19, 2007
A couple of updates. We're still advocating for utilization of the other half of the enclosure. We've been told by the elephant centre that it will be included in the government's 9th Malaysian Plan. We're not quite sure yet what exactly that means and so shall keep the topic on the radar screen for further discussion.
Also, the elephant centre has asked that the Malaysian Elephant Appeal (MEA) provide help in sending new Kuala Gandah staff to Thailand for training. We are willing to support this initiative but have suggested that it may be more economical to bring a trainer from Thailand to the elephant centre rather than to send several staff to Thailand. The DWNP and MEA will discuss the logistics of this over the next couple of months.
January 29, 2007
The DVD is now finished and 2000 copies have been made. To fundraise for the elephant projects, the Rotary Club of Temerloh took 1000 copies to sell at events such as their annual New Year's dinner (RM10 or RM5 for students) and the rest we may distribute free to schools and other community groups for use as an educational tool.
Nov 1, 2006
There was a good article about Kuala Gandah (which also mentions the Malaysian Elephant Appeal) in the September 6, 2006 issue of The Hilt, the quartlery magazine of the Hilton, Kuala Lumpur. The magazine is distributed to all of the rooms in the hotel, as well as in the hotel lobbies and executive lounges of ten other Hiltons around the world.
October 22, 2006
We've now gone through the entire website to update the info and refresh the content.
We hope to launch the VCD some time in 2007, maybe at the Rotary District Conference at the end of January (photo: Maggie shooting the video inside the enclosure area).
September 3, 2006
It's been about a year since the video project was started and now, at last, we are in the finishing touches phase. The DVD should be completed by October. Thanks again to Natt and Maggie for all of the time and effort they've spent on this, as well as to Cheryl for her help with the voiceover work.
August 15, 2006
Several months ago, a group of youth called BRATS (which apparently stands for Bright, Roving, Annoying Teens) established the Fund for Awareness and Preservation of Elephant Survival (APES). The initiative was sparked from a visit the youth had to the Kuala Gandah elephant centre (the visit was part of the BRATS Green Pow Wow camp in 2005). At their big fundraising event for APES, the youth raised RM40,000 to launch an awareness programme using banners, ads and the media to educate the public about the Asian elephant. It is BRATS hope that if more people know about the plight of the elephants, then more people will fight for the protection of elephant habitat.
Since the Malaysian Elephant Appeal and BRATS appear to share similar goals, we will try to follow up with the youth some time during 2006-2007 to see if there are opportunities for collaboration that will maximize our mutual efforts to raise public awareness of elephant conservation.
July 19, 2006
Update on Kuala Gandah since the Malaysian Elephant Appeal formed in the year 2000: We feel that things have greatly improved at the elephant centre over the past 7 years and while we can't claim that the improvements are all a direct result of the Appeal's projects, we do believe that our efforts have contributed to the progress. We observe that there are more staff now to handle the elephants and that the staff have prioritized the health and welfare of the animals. There is now also a vet from the UPM department who goes up to Kuala Gandah on a regular basis. As well, the infrastructure and maintenance of the centre have also notably improved. In addition, the centre has put in place policies such as limiting the number of visitors per day so as not to overwhelm the elephants which also demonstrates an increased commitment to creating a healthier environment for the elephants.(photo: little elephants playing in the field)
June 20, 2006
Natt and Maggie are plugging away at the VCD, spending countless hours at the elephant centre and amassing lots of video footage. They have found everyone at Kuala Gandah highly cooperative and have even procured the involvement of centre manager Encik Nasaruddin Bin Othman as well as the Director General of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, Dato' Haji Musa Nordin.(photo: Maggie in action)
We have also been busy putting together the next issue of Ele-Mental, the Malaysian Elephant Appeal's newsletter, networking with other organizations and meeting with the media to garner more coverage of elephant issues and Kuala Gandah.
April 15, 2006
There have been lots of newcomers to Kuala Gandah. One of the new elephants is Siput who has been featured recently in many newspapers. Siput, at the time 2-months old, was found wandering alone in a plantation in Sungai Siput. Two oil palm harvesters were able to gently constrain her until the staff from Kuala Gandah arrived at the site. After much debate, everyone agreed that Siput should be released in the same place in which she was found to facilitate her reunion with her mother and herd. After a week, however, Siput was rediscovered wandering alone again, this time notably thinner and covered in latex (likely from thinking that the latex from rubber trees was milk). With the increasing unlikelihood that Siput would link up with her family, the Kuala Gandah team took her back to the centre where she now resides.
February 4, 2006
The Malaysian Elephant Appeal had a meeting this month with the manager of Kuala Gandah, as well as with the Director General of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks to discuss possible projects for 2006-2007. Ideas that were discussed include: putting into practice the utilisation of the west enclosure in order to allow for plant regeneration and to prevent soil compaction in the east enclosure; re-examining the nite stall system; and providing professional development opportunities for the Kuala Gandah staff by sponsoring a trainer from Thailand to come to the centre for an extended period of time.
September 14, 2005
Over the past few months the Malaysian Elephant Appeal has been involved in a couple of construction projects to improve conditions at the elephant centre, but its main focus has been on education and awareness raising. To this end, last year the Appeal began discussions regarding the production of an educational or promotional video -- it was just brainstorming at that time and left quite open as to what the final product would be. Since then, for a whole host of logistical reasons, the project has had many false starts, project leaders and proposed purposes and storylines. Well, it is now a go! Volunteers from Singapore, Natt and Maggie, are currently leading the project and have spent quite a bit of time travelling to Kuala Gandah and shooting footage of the staff and elephants. Thus far they have about 4 tapes worth of footage and will be heading up again to the centre in a few weeks to get more shots. At this point they know that the target audience will be children and that the purpose of the video will be general education on elephants and the environment. Natt and Maggie have an idea of what the storyline will be, but much of the flow will depend on the footage that they get. It is hoped that a rough cut will be ready prior to the end of 2006.
July 7, 2005
Ford sent us a press release on their treasure hunt event (Kuala Gandah was one of its pitstops) which we include here in a condensed, edited version: Ford Escape owners headed off on an escapade on April 23 and 24 to Cherating, Kuantan. The flag-off was held at Ford's flagship 3S showroom on April 23 and headed off to the elephant centre at Kuala Gandah, about one and a half hours away. The visit to Kuala Gandah was an eye opener for many as it provided the participants and their children the opportunity to get close to the elephants and learn about the relocation work that the centre is involved in. It was a fantastic experience as the participants had the opportunity to hand feed, ride and help bathe the elephants. For many it was the first time that they had the opportunity to get so close to elephants. Ford has been involved in supporting the elephant centre at Kuala Gandah through the Malaysian Elephant Appeal by means of the Ford Motor Company Conservation and Environmental Grants Programme.
For a more extensive press release on the treasure hunt, as well as photos from the event, please click here.
May 28, 2005
We have been busy over these last few months doing administrative tasks such as preparing the annual report, meeting with the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, etc. We also had quite a few out of town visitors such as Colin Reaney and Kareen Dahl from Singapore who came to Malaysia to present the Malaysian Elephant Appeal with a cheque from the SeptFest event (see October 2004 update in the Updates Archive section). Thank you again to Colin and Kareen for their amazing support! We hope to have a link soon to more photos from the event and video footage of the toy elephant race that raised such generous funds and awareness for the Appeal and its work.
The Appeal also helped to coordinate the stopover portion of the Ford Escape Treasure Hunt at the end of April. The treasure hunt is organized for members of the 4-wheel drive club and ran from Kuala Lumpur to Kuantan. The stopover at Kuala Gandah was a great success.
With regards to infrastructure projects, the deck (see Future Project section -- 2005 Projects for more details) is almost complete.
February 12, 2005
In association with Rotary International's centennial celebration, Rotary District 3300 has teamed up local newspapers to feature the various Rotary Clubs in the district. The Rotary Club of Temerloh (under which the Malaysian Elephant Appeal is situated) will be the first Club to be featured soon in the New Straits Times and the elephant projects will be one of their highlighted initiatives.
January 26, 2005
Here is a summary of some of the projects and activities that the Malaysian Elephant Appeal organized and implemented in 2004. All of these initiatives were done with the approval, cooperation and often collaboration of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks and the staff at the Kuala Gandah elephant centre. The Appeal focused its energy in three areas: relationship-building with other environmental organizations, infrastructure projects and educational initiatives, with the most emphasis put on this latter area. With regards to relationship-building, among the organizations to which the Appeal created stronger links were the Malaysian Nature Society and the Singapore-based Green Volunteers Network. This type of networking has led to information sharing, organizational support and discussions for joint ventures to promote environmental issues. With regards to infrastructure projects, the Appeal funded the construction of a mounting platform (for elephant rides) and a pondok (a shelter for day visitors). For educational initiatives, the Appeal was involved in several activities such as the launch of a newsletter, the creation of a multi-media presentation, outreach to secondary schools and educational visits for sponsors, environmental groups and social welfare organizations.
December 13, 2004
Today there was another article in The New Straits Times about the elephant centre at Kuala Gandah. The article continues the discussion around the problems encountered by foreign volunteers at the centre and adds that it appears that certain volunteers were also instructed to collect fees at the centre. While the Malaysian Elephant Appeal is a project-based, non-profit, non-governmental entity that is not located on-site and is not involved in the day to day management of the elephant centre (which is government owned and operated), we are confident that the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) has never put in an official entrance fee at Kuala Gandah. We are also confident that the volunteers who were placed at Kuala Gandah were not official volunteers of the DWNP nor of the Malaysian Elephant Appeal. Although the newspaper articles are not clearly articulating this point, the allegations do not appear to be directed at the DWNP, but rather at a private company which is named on the Foreign Affairs Canada web site in the Safety and Security section -- see first Dec 13 update below for the hotlink. (December 14 note: the article in today's New Straits Times states a little more clearly that the allegations and investigations are aimed at an individual who is not an employee of the DWNP.)
December 13, 2004
On December 11 there was an article in The New Straits Times about an elephant sanctuary in Pahang and the raping and sexual assault of foreigners who volunteered at the sanctuary. The sanctuary of which the article speaks is the elephant centre for which we do projects, however the allegations are not connected to the Malaysian Elephant Appeal nor, as far as we know, to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks. It is our understanding that the allegations have to do with a non-affiliated entity on whom embassies such as Foreign Affairs Canada have, for several years now, issued travel advisories (see section #3 Safety and Security of the Foreign Affairs web site).
December 7, 2004
As most of you may know, the Malaysian Elephant Appeal has, since its inception in 2000, been completely made up of volunteers. This has likely contributed to the Appeal's evolution into an enduring, spirited community-based entity that attracts committed and passionate supporters. One such supporter is Elisabeth Bruckmann, a lawyer for a community organization in Toronto, Canada. Elisabeth was there to support the Appeal right from the beginning and continues to demonstrate her support to this day. Elisabeth was absolutely key in the creation and design of the Appeal's website. Without her, we would have had no means of communicating to the general public. Nowadays the Appeal receives inquiries from all over the world specifically because people have been able to find out about us via the internet and learn more about what we do. We would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to Elisabeth for her generosity, kindness and enthusiasm for the work of the Appeal!
November 5, 2004
This year, in hopes of allowing other non-profits an increased chance of receiving funding, the Malaysian Elephant Appeal decided not to apply for another grant from the Ford Motor Company Conservation and Environmental program. When Ford Malaysia learned that we would not be submitting a funding application, they invited us to exhibit and showcase our project at the grants awards ceremony at the Hyatt Saujana in Kuala Lumpur in October. The Appeal's exhibit, staffed by Lucy Ong, was very well-received with lots of positive feedback from other non-governmental organizations, as well as government officials such as Dato Ng, the recently retired Secretary General of the Ministry of Science and Environment (the Ministry in which is located the Department of Wildlife and National Parks which is the branch of the government that owns and operates the Kuala Gandah elephant centre).
October 1, 2004
It's been a busy time and we apologize for the lack of updates! Over the past 3 months we have organized a few educational trips up to the centre for schools, community groups and underpriveleged children. We don't tend to organize many trips but do so occasionally to raise awareness of elephant and conservation issues, particularly among students. We've also been writing up reports, meeting with the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (who own and operate the Kuala Gandah elephant centre), and completing our first ever newsletter for the Malaysian Elephant Appeal.
In September, the Appeal was one of the organizations for which funds were raised during the annual SeptFest at The Substation in Singapore. The main artist who raised awareness of and funds for the Appeal was Australian Colin Reaney. Colin created an installation called Only Asian Elephants Swim and conducted a race of 30 mechanical toy elephants. The exhibition was part of the Artists and Other Animals project, curated by Lucy Davis, in which environmentalists, animal groups, artists and theorists come together to examine the ways in which human-animal relationships are imagined, represented and performed in the region. To see a photo of the elephants racing, click here. Septfest had a huge turnout and was a great success. In fact, due to SeptFest, the Appeal has received a slew of inquiries about the elephant centre from folks down in Singapore. A big thank you from all of us at the Malaysian Elephant Appeal to Colin Reaney and Lucy Davis for their enthusiastic support!
July 4, 2004
In May the local office of JP Morgan Chase Bank submitted a report on their Global Day of Service at Kuala Gandah (see November 2003 entry) to their HQ in the United States and, much to their surprise, they won the "best project" award which they then donated to the Appeal to finance the production of a VCD.
Also in May, the Rotary Club of Temerloh organized a "Rotary Awareness Day" in Mentakab (about a half hour drive from Kuala Gandah) which involved over 200 students from two of the local schools. The event included lots of activities, a multimedia presentation and a component for Environment Day that showcased the elephant project. The elephant centre is still not well-known by Malaysians, and to this end the Rotary Club encouraged the teachers to take their students to Kuala Gandah on field trips.
In June, the Appeal organized a trip up to Kuala Gandah for 100 students (ages 4-8 years old), parents and teachers from the International School of Kuala Lumpur (ISKL). For several years now, ISKL has been a strong, annual supporter of the Appeal and this year was no exception with the school once again generously donating to the Appeal's current projects.
May 12, 2004
A group of volunteers with the Malaysian Elephant Appeal have come up with the idea of creating a quarterly e-newsletter to keep people informed about environmental issues, the Kuala Gandah centre and its resident elephants, as well as general news from the world of wildlife conservation. If you are interested in receiving this newsletter, please send us your email address and write "subscribe newsletter" in the subject header.
April 29, 2004
Charly, a British PR professional based in KL, has recently joined the Malaysian Elephant Appeal team and is volunteering her time for a couple of months to help to promote the Appeal and its projects. Charly has turned out to be like gold to the Appeal. She is very enthusiastic and energetic and has been extremely effective in her promotional efforts. For example, thanks to Charly, Asian Geographic has just contacted us and is considering a full feature about the elephants at Kuala Gandah as part of the Appeal's awareness campaign. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Charly for her help with the Appeal and for her efforts to strengthen public awareness of elephant conservation issues in Malaysia. Charly, welcome aboard!
March 17, 2004
Early last month, Lucy Ong took a group of Ford Malaysia employees and their families up to the Kuala Gandah centre. It was a very successful event that included a formal cheque presentation from Ford's Environmental foundation to the Malaysian Elephant Appeal for the Appeal's 2004 conservation projects.
The Appeal is now moving forward with its environmental education strategy for youth and will begin delivering interactive workshops and multi-media presentations to students in the Temerloh area by mid-Spring.
February 13, 2004
One of the Malaysian Elephant Appeal's biggest individual supporters is Siti who recently returned from a visit to the centre. Siti was the first person to adopt an elephant when the Appeal launched in the year 2000 and she has continued to do so every year since! Indeed, Siti now adopts three elephants a year! We would like to take this opportunity to thank Siti for her ongoing generosity and for her support of the Appeal's work from the very beginning.
November 12, 2003
October 4, 2003
September 15, 2003
August 14, 2003
July 3, 2003
May 13, 2003
April 13, 2003
March 6, 2003
December 9, 2002
October 6, 2002
September 6, 2002
May 17, 2002
April 26, 2002
In late October, 100 staff and family members of J.P. Morgan Chase bank came to Kuala Gandah to participate in a gotong royong (community service project). It was a full day of work (and fun), including raising the edges of the elephant bathing pool and hanging tires as toys for the elephants. Chase in partnership with the Rotary Club of Temerloh donated a high pressured hose to help the Kuala Gandah staff in their maintenance and upkeep of the centre. And through the J.P. Morgan Chase foundation and via the efforts of key members of the Rotary Club, a generous donation was also made to the Appeal for its ongoing infrastructural improvement and education projects. We would like to thank again the staff at J.P. Morgan Chase for all of their hard work and generosity!
The Malaysian Elephant Appeal is starting to do some outreach to the youth in the region surrounding the elephant centre. The goal is to nurture young Malaysians' knowledge and appreciation of their cultural heritage and to create awareness of the Kuala Gandah elephant centre, a national treasure in their own backyard. The Appeal will start with students in Temerloh and expand outwards from there.
The education module to train the staff at Kuala Gandah about conservation issues and interactive learning techniques is ready to go. The original date for the training workshops to begin was early September. Unfortunately, at the last minute the majority of the staff were called out to Kelantan and Johor for another two rounds of field work (see "About the Centre" section and translocations) and their return date back to the centre is not yet known. It is hoped that the workshops will take place sometime before the end of November and before the start of Ramadan.
In our ongoing endeavour to post some of the initial press coverage that the Malaysian Elephant Appeal received, here is an article that was published in The Star. (note: we should have an update on the current conservation education project at the beginning of September).
Here are the summarised details of the article:
Newspaper: The Star, June 8, 2000
Article Title: Funds Needed for Elephants in Distress
Photo Image: BOH Plantation's Executive Director Caroline Russell; Department of Wildlife and National Park's Director-General Musa Nordin; Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment Minister Datuk Law Hieng Ding; Rotary Club of Bukit Bintang's Marc Davey.
Article Summary: The Rotary Club of Bukit Bintang sponsors the elephant project via the Malaysian Elephant Appeal fund which is officially recognized and launched by the Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment, Datuk Law Hieng Ding. Peter Bruckmann, Manager of the elephant project, gives details about the initiative. Marc Davey from the Rotary Club of Bukit Bintang talks of the elephant centre's long term plans for conservation education.
Click here for the article (big file size).
Over the years the Malaysian Elephant Appeal has received ongoing media exposure for its continued efforts to improve the conditions for the elephants at Kuala Gandah and to improve public education on conservation issues. We are finally getting around to scanning a few newspaper articles on the Appeal and its work at Kuala Gandah for your viewing. Unfortunately, we are not cyber savy, so the only way we can figure out how to include the articles on the web site is to scan them into large file sizes (to enable you to read the newsprint). This, of course, means that the files will take forever to download. So, for now, we'll test this idea out one article at a time, starting with the first article ever written on the Appeal.
Here are the summarised details of the article:
Newspaper: New Straits Times, May 30, 2000
Article Title: Project to Save Our Elephants
Author: Noor Husna Khalid
Photo Image: Department of Wildlife and National Park's Director-General Musa Nordin, BOH Plantation's Executive Director Caroline Russell, Malaysian Elephant Appeal's Lianne Carley and Peter Bruckmann.
Article Summary: BOH Plantations and the Rotary Club of Bukit Bintang launch a fundraising campaign for the improvement of Kuala Gandah elephant centre. Lianne Carley and Peter Bruckmann will work with key stakeholders under the Department of Wildlife and National Park's direction to assist in the project.
Click here for the article.
Note: The New Straits Times' online archive also has every article that it has written on the Malaysian Elephant Appeal since the year 2000 when the Appeal was first launched.
The Malaysian Elephant Appeal is developing a project framework for an interactive eductional programme for Kuala Gandah. Thusfar, a draft plan has been created for an education module. The module will strive to link what visitors learn from the information panels in the interpretation building to their hands-on experience with the elephants. It will also strive to encourage visitors to actively reflect on what role they play in conservation. More details will follow once the project has received final approval from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks.
We would like to acknowledge the ongoing support of BOH Plantations. Three years ago when this all started, BOH was the first sponsor of the Malaysian Elephant Appeal and generously contributed both with financial resources as well as promotional resources. It was truly a key component in the Appeal's initial success. Thank you, BOH! We would also like to extend our congratulations to Caroline Russell, the general manager and executive director of BOH, on the recent birth of her new baby!
Last month, Rotarian Lucy Ong organized a day trip up to Kuala Gandah for Ford employees and their families. The trip was a big success and several of the Ford executives reiterated their enthusiasm for the work being done by the Malaysian Elephant Appeal. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank Ford again for their support and encouragement.
The Rotary Club of Temerloh has now finished construction of the bathing pool for the elephants. The Malaysian Elephant Appeal also just received some funding from Ford Malaysia's environmental grants program. We will be using the funds towards the development of an environmental education component for visitors to Kuala Gandah. A big thank you to Ford for their support!
RCT Past President Lee Eng Thong reports that the RCT has finished upgrading the bridge leading to the main compound of Kuala Gandah. Construction of the bathing pool has been progressing despite the rainy weather and the contractor has predicted that the work will be finished within two months. Along with the pool, the contractor will also be constructing a new salt lick and a water trough for the elephants.
On a recent visit to Kuala Gandah, Lucy Ong reported that construction of the bathing pool is coming along slowly but surely. The Rotary Club of Temerloh (RCT) is also reconstructing a new culvert on the approach path to the gate of the enclosure, replacing the existing one that was made of a hollow tree trunk (which is inadequate to handle the increased flow of the stream during the rainy season). For the comfort of visitors to the elephant centre, the RCT is also planning to design and construct some concrete benches and situate them in various shady spots throughout the Kuala Gandah grounds.
Please note: updates have now been done throughout the website, including changes to the Appeal's bank account which has now been transferred to the Rotary Club of Temerloh's Foundation.
Last month, Lucy Ong (see previous entry) met on site with members from the Rotary Club of Temerloh and the Director of Kuala Gandah elephant centre to discuss phase 2 projects of the Malaysian Elephant Appeal. Although this second phase has had a slow start, things are now starting to roll. The Rotary Club of Temerloh is still negotiating with the contractor, but once the details have been finalised, work will begin first on upgrading the bridge to the centre and on the bathing pool for the elephants. It is estimated that phase 2 will be completed in about 3 months from the date of commencement.
Lucy Ong (Past President of the Rotary Club of Bukit Bintang and current Chair of the Elephant Appeal committee) visited Kuala Gandah yesterday and reported that all of the elephants appear happy and in good health. Lucy met with some DWNP staff and with some members of the Rotary Club of Temerloh to finalize the details of phase 2 of the project. The meeting went very well. The details of their meeting will be posted in the Updates Section in a week or two.
The Rotary Club (RC) of Bukit Bintang had a very fruitful meeting with RC Temerloh (RCT) and the DWNP. It was decided that the second phase projects would focus on the following (in order of priority):
1. Bathing Pool. The RCT will look into designs to convert the mud wallow into a bathing pool with a concrete base and with running water pumped from the stream.
2. Tree protection. The DWNP has done quite a good job of protecting the trees by piling stones at the base of the trees (with stones supplied by RCT). The only problem is that the elephants tend to pick at the rocks, thereby toppling the piles. The Rotary Clubs will be improving this strategy by placing mesh wire around the rocks.
3. Nite stalls. The DWNP has constructed a new holding area for the adult elephants that includes a roof. It is a vast improvement from the old site (which was damaged during a tropical storm). If there are sufficient funds in the budget, the Rotary Clubs intend to repair the old site and put GI pipes around both the old and new sites to create about 10 night stalls.
January 12, 2002
Here are some of the highlights from annual report for the first phase of the Malaysian Elephant Appeal (2000-2001) prepared for the Rotary Club of Bukit Bintang (RCBB) Charity Foundation. The report was prepared by Lucy Ong (Past President of the RCBB and current Chair of the Elephant Appeal committee).
Completed 1st phase:
- Constructed a double fence around a 3 acre enclosure for the elephants.
- Organized a Training Programme for Kuala Gandah staff (in cooperation with Singapore's Zoological Department).
- The Rotary Club of Temerloh (partners in service with the RCBB) sponsored the construction of a viewing platform, a mud wallow/salt lick and signage for the Kuala Gandah centre.
Proposed 2nd phase:
- Night stalls (individual pens) where the elephants can be housed safely during the night.
- A bathing pool and water troughs.
- Tree protection.
- A comprehensive conservation education programme.
The RCBB hopes to complete the above 2nd phase by May 2002.
October 3, 2001
Due to some recent and unusual events (the elephants being killed by a tree, etc. See previous "updates" entries for more detail), the situation at Kuala Gandah appears to be somewhat in a state of flux. But fear not, the Rotary Club plans on meeting with the Department of Wildlife and National Parks within the next couple of months to get a solid update on the future of Kuala Gandah and the translocation program. As well, the Rotary is currently exploring possible contractors to do the educational exhibits for the interpretation building at the elephant centre. Alas, progress continues, albeit slowly.
August 9, 2001
This is just a quick update on the usage of the enclosure for the elephants. The little elephants are now let into the enclosed area on a daily basis. The two fifty-year old elephants, Chek Mek and Mek Bunga are now also being brought into the enclosure instead of being kept on long chains in the jungle. The Rotary continues to negotiate the idea of constructing night stalls for the elephants to eliminate the need for chaining altogether.
June 12, 2001
We have some very sad news about three of the adult elephants at Kuala Gandah. On May 31st, there was a terrible storm in central Pahang. It was one of the worst storms that the staff at the elephant centre had ever experienced. The next morning, it was discovered that Swee Lee Teh, Swee Lee King, and Mama Leh had been killed by a tree that had fallen on them during the night.
The current routine at Kuala Gandah is that the elephants are let into the enclosure during the day and chained at night. This routine is part of the transition process for both the staff and the elephants to gradually decrease the amount of time that the elephants are chained. One of the next projects of the Malaysian Elephant Appeal is to construct night stalls (situated away from large trees) within which the elephants will not be chained. The night stalls will also have re-enforced roof protection to try to prevent such a tragedy from occurring again.
The staff was shocked and dismayed at the loss of these three elephants who had lived at Kuala Gandah for the past five years and who were soon to replace the two fifty year old translocation elephants, Chek Mek and Mek Bunga.
The Rotary Club of Bukit Bintang had a meeting last week with the Director General (DG) of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks to discuss the future of the elephant translocation program, Kuala Gandah and the Malaysian Elephant Appeal. The DG was deeply saddened by what had happened to the three elephants. He said that he plans to continue the elephant translocation program and that he is looking into purchasing elephants to replace the three that were lost in the storm. The replacement elephants would likely come from Indonesia or Thailand where there are many trained, domesticated elephants that are no longer used in the (currently banned) logging business and now need new homes. He also said that he is committed to continue the transformation of Kuala Gandah into an education conservation centre and that the Malaysian Elephant Appeal should continue to plan its projects for the elephants.
A few days ago the Rotarians had a meeting to discuss the accident and the next step for the Appeal. It was decided that the Appeal projects would continue as usual once the changeover to the new Rotary president occurs in July. Everyone agreed that what had happened to the three elephants was a tragedy, and that it was even more of a reason to address the needs of the elephants at Kuala Gandah.
The two Swee Lees and Mama Leh will be deeply missed by us all.
May 7, 2001
This past weekend, in Ipoh, Malaysia, 56 Rotary Clubs gathered for the annual Rotary International District Assembly. At the assembly, the Rotary Clubs of Bukit Bintang and Temerloh were honoured with the Best Community Project Award for their work for the elephants at Kuala Gandah.
April 5, 2001
The official ceremony to celebrate the completion of the enclosure happened on March 31st and was a very successful event. Officiating the ceremony was Deputy Minister Tengku Azlan Ibni Sultan Abu Bakar who has also been named the patron of the elephant conservation centre. He also generously pledged 5000 RM to help with the costs of phase two projects that are currently in the planning stage.
March 3, 2001
Preparations are underway for the official ceremony to celebrate the completion of the enclosure for the elephants. The Rotary Club of Temerloh is working on constructing a salt lick and mud wallow inside the enclosure and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks will be hooking up the back-up generator and doing some last minute maintenance work. The ceremony, which will occur within the next month, will be officiated by one of the Prime Minister's deputy ministers.
December 22, 2000
Both Shell Malaysia and the Ford Motor company have given donations to the Malaysian Elephant Appeal! The funds will likely go towards helping to cover the costs of tree protection, the next project in line for the elephants.
September 21, 2000
The enclosure is now completed! Once the staff of Kuala Gandah has completed their training program (which has generously been sponsored by the Singapore Zoo), the elephants will be allowed into the enclosure.
September 16, 2000
Today a group of students and alumni of Monash University Malaysia campus visited the elephant centre. It was a fun and educational trip for all! Taking students to the Centre is part of our objective of transforming Kuala Gandah into an environmental education facility. Some of the students are currently enrolled in the Environmental Management program at the university and others are members of the Monash chapter of the Malaysian Nature Society. By enhancing their awareness of the plight of the Asian elephant, it is hoped that the students, in turn, will champion the cause to others in their communities.
July 22, 2000
The Malaysian Elephant Appeal has a new partner! The Rotary Club (RC) of Temerloh is now officially a partner in service with the Rotary Club of Bukit Bintang. RC Temerloh, being located in close proximity to the elephant centre, will take a "hands on" role in the current enclosure project and in future projects. They have already committed to building a viewing platform for the staff and visitors and have drawn up a professionally-rendered design to accomplish this. It is indeed a great pleasure to welcome RC Temerloh on board!
June 13, 2000
Construction of phase one has started! The basic fence construction began today and already the first posts have been sunk in concrete. The construction should take about 4 weeks. This marks the first major step toward improving the lives of the elephants at Kuala Gandah. Much more still needs to be done, however, to transform the Centre into a true sanctuary and environmental education facility.
June 7, 2000
Today the Malaysian Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment, Dato Law Hieng Dieng, officially launched the Malaysian Elephant Santuary Appeal and the enclosure project. In his speech to the media, he called on individuals and corporations to contribute to the Appeal and to help continue to improve conditions for the elephants at the Center. At the event, the Minister presided over the presentaion of a cheque for RM 40,000 by BOH Plantations to the Appeal. The event received wide coverage throughout Malaysia.
June 5, 2000
The final details of the fence contract are being discussed. The contract will be signed in a few days and the first phase of construction of the fence for the enclosed area for the elephants will begin in a week. Funds are in place to cover the first phases of construction, but further funding is still required to ensure the completion of the enclosure project.
May 22, 2000
This past weekend 25 volunteers (including members from the Malaysian Nature Society, the Pacesetters Athletic Club and B.H. Gan, Nor & Kim law firm) came up to the elephant center to help to clear the fence line. They hacked their way through vines, felled trees, and nurtured blisters! It was a big help and quite an accomplishment! And, despite their sore muscles, everyone had a great time! A big thank you to everyone involved!
May 10, 2000
Last week our project was highlighted on the Malaysian national TV news and in the national newspapers. Throughout the month of May, feature writer journalists will be brought up to the elephant center for a site visit. The project will also be covered by a Japanese newspaper based in Malaysia.
Next weekend, a group of volunteers will spend two to four days, hacking their way through thick jungle to clear the fence line for the enclosure area. This will not only help to get the community involved, but it will also bring down the costs of construction.
April 19, 2000
We have obtained several reliable quotes from a local contractor for the cost of building the enclosure. The cost is actually slightly lower than we had anticipated. We also discussed construction timelines and it would seem that the initial work can start quite soon. In the meantime, we will continue the fundraising work to ensure that all funds are in place to be able to complete the first phase of the project.
April 10, 2000
Last week we had a very positive meeting with BOH Plantations, one of Malaysia's largest tea producers. BOH has been operating in Malaysia since 1929 and has been active in both elephant and environmental conservation efforts, as well as working with the Department of Wildlife on various projects. BOH was very interested in the Enclosure Project and has agreed to contribute financially. The company will also promote the project in a nationwide campaign. BOH is the first major sponsor to come on board and will no doubt bring increased media exposure. We are confident that this will attract the interest of other funding bodies and corporate sponsors.
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