Elephant Walk

Male elephant (foreground) & Nellie our elephant, behind

There was a film made in the 1940's titiled "Elephant Walk", it was a film set in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in which a house of a wealthy tea grower was built in the traditional walking path of the elephants.  The elephants were none too pleased about this and towards the end of the film they succeeded in trampling the building down (mind you the building was a substantial stone building) and the owner concluded that it was better to build in another location, much to the relief of his new life.  Basically the film was about the unforgettable memory of the elephant.

Rosie seated on Nellie with Keeper Abu

We went walking with, or more to the point on, an elephant today but I forgot to ask the elephant keeper (who's name was Apu) about the elephant memory, needless to say Nellie (it was a she elephant) knew exactly where to go and what tricks to perform.  This is probably not surprising given that she's probably done the whole thing about a thousand times.  You see, elephants live for about 80 years but retire from work at 60 years of age so its any wonder they have good memories.  Nellie, our elephant was 27 years old so she still has a few years up her sleeve.  She and Apu have been together for 14 years and both of them came to Bali from Sumatra about 9 years ago, mainly because the pay is better and the work is much easier on his elephant (I forgot to ask him if the elephant belongs to him).  However, Apu had to leave his wife and son behind to look after his mother and besides he only has one room to live in which would be difficult for them all.  Furthermore, although the pay is better than in Sumatra, it is more expensive to live in Bali, we could tell that he is quite torn.  He works a 9 day week and has 3 days off for a festival once a month (I think thats what he said).  He and Nellie are partners for life.

An elephant eats about 250kg of vegetable matter and drinks 100litres of water per day.

This was a truck at the elephant park that looked like it'd been in a fight with an elephant.  This is what most of the trucks in Bali look like.  Now I know what causes all the damage.... elephants!

Some Sumatran elephant facts from a-z animals.com

The Sumatran elephant is a sub-species ofAsian elephant which includes the Indianelephant, the Sumatran elephant, the Sri-Lanka elephant and the Borneo elephant. The Sumatran elephant is extremely rare today, with estimates in 2000 putting Sumatran elephant numbers at just over 2,000 individuals.

As its name suggests, the Sumatran elephant is found exclusively on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. However, the Sumatran elephant population has severely declined as they have lost more than 80% of their naturalhabitat to deforestation for palm oil plantations.
The Sumatran elephant has smaller ears than the African elephant and the Sumatran elephant also has a more curved spine than the African elephant. Unlike the African elephants, the female Sumatran elephants very rarely have tusks, and if the female Sumatran elephant does have tusks, they are generally barely visible and can only be seen when the female Sumatranelephant opens her mouth.
The Sumatran elephant follows strict migration routes that are determined by the monsoon season. The eldest elephant of the Sumatran elephant herd is responsible for remembering the migration route of its Sumatran elephantherd. This Sumatran elephant migration generally takes place between the wet and dry seasons and problems arose when farms where built along the migratory routes of the Sumatran elephant herds, as the Sumatran elephantscaused a great deal of destruction to the newly founded farmland.
Sumatran elephants are herbivorous animals meaning that they only eat plants and plant matter in order to gain all of the nutrients that they need to survive. Sumatran elephants eat a wide variety of vegetation including grasses, leaves, shoots, barks, fruits, nuts and seeds. Sumatran elephantsoften use their long trunk to assist them in gathering food.
Due to their large size, Sumatran elephants have very few predators within their natural environment. Besides human hunters, Sumatran tigers are the primary predator of the Sumatran elephant, although they tend to hunt the smaller Sumatran elephant calves rather than the much larger and stronger adults.
Female Sumatran elephants are generally able to breed by the time they are 10 years old, and give birth to a single Sumatran elephant calf after a 22 month gestation period. When the Sumatran elephant calf is first born, it weighs about 100 kg, and is cared for not only by it's mother by also by other female Sumatran elephants in the herd (known as aunties). The infant Sumatran elephant remains with its mother until it is around 5 years old and gains its independence, with males often leaving the herd and female calves staying.
Today, the Sumatran elephant is considered to be an animal that is in immediate danger of becoming extinct due to the fact that Sumatranelephant populations have been declining at a critical rate. Sumatranelephants are thought to be suffering primarily due to habitat loss in the form of deforestation and hunting for their ivory tusks by human poachers.