love for elephants

to be with no one and yet, 

to never feel alone.

stop.
breathe.
cry if you must.
that is love for elephants.

Karla Nova

Mae Boun Nam, an example for all of us.

Mae Boun Nam (pronounced Me-bu-nam) is the smallest and youngest of our 4 female elephants. She is just 17 years old and used to work in Hongsa District (the village I visited earlier in my trip), transporting tourist on hours-long forest treks. Fortunately, she was never used in the logging industry because of her petite size and young age.

She came to us about a year and a half ago when a poacher shot her. The veterinary team saved her life but the baby she was carrying did not survive. Though elephants do not forget, apparently they do forgive: our “Water Festival” is the most joyful and playful of them all. 

She loves people but the thing she loves the most is going for a swim in the lake (her name suits her perfectly!). She hasn’t had any medical issues, so Mae Boun Nam naively sees me as a friend instead of the veterinarian (which I enjoy very much). 

I always go to the pier when its time for her bath where I brush her, give her lots of treats and admire her thrill.

Currently, she is going into our fenced breeding area 3 times a week with the male elephant where they spend several hours getting to know each other better. I spend this time observing and recording courtship behavior for our breeding program. Our male is a little shy with girls though so he hasn't tried to win her over much! Hopefully that will soon change as Mae Boun Nam cannot wait to have a baby of her own; she always tries to touch and play with the babies here at the center but mommies are very protective and keep them away.

I am definitely connecting with “Water Festival”: her gratefulness for living reminds me why I became a veterinarian and her forgiveness toward people, her compassion, reminds me why I love animals with such passion. 

I think we could learn a thing or two from Mae Boun Nam...Watch and learn people, watch and learn.

More to come,
Karla Nova

Xang Phi: Elephant Spirit.

A few weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night by a strong "crack"; it was one of those sounds that you never forget once you have heard it: an elephant eating a tree. I went back to sleep wondering why there was an elephant so close to the camp, normally the mahouts take them deep into the forest where there is enough natural forage for them to feed on. The next morning I demanded to know who was the lazy mahout that didn't take his elephant where he's suppose to. I noticed how everyone looked concerned and .... afraid? The Shaman was the one who finally broke the silence and explained to me that what I heard was an elephant's spirit that roams around the camp every full moon; an elephant that was buried here last summer and since then has never left. 

Apparently this elephant was a former patient of our hospital (cause of death still unknown) that was buried here at the center a few months ago (I wasn't here yet so couldn't give you more details). In Laos, they believe that elephants have 32 body souls (like humans) so when an elephant passes away, a day-long ceremony takes place where the Shaman chants certain Buddhist mantras and it finalizes with the cremation of the body (not a burial). Therefore, every full moon the elephant's spirit roams around and cannot move on to its next life. Lao people believe strongly in spirits and are very afraid of them... no one likes to speak of them, walk alone at night or even sleep by themselves!

Last night when I saw the full moon staring at me glowing over the treetops, I knew what I had to do: I gathered some food, water and candles and headed with the Shaman into the woods... I went to the spirit house. Initially, I thought of going to the elephant's tomb but then I recalled that there's a spirit house in every home in Laos; the house is intended to provide shelter for spirits which could cause problems for the people if not appeased so offerings are left at the house to propitiate them.

When I got there I lit the candles and placed my offerings (food and water) in the house; the Shaman kneeled on the ground and completed his prayers while I remain silent. What did he say? I will never know. When he finished he walked back to the camp without saying a word... I decided to stay and do some prayer of my own. I noticed how darkness and silence surrounded me, I couldn't even hear the Shaman's steps anymore. I looked around, I was clearly by myself but I did not feel alone at all. It was like the entire forest was watching...listening...waiting.

I knelt on the wet muddy ground and prayed out loud: I asked the elephant's spirit for his forgiveness; I said I was sorry that he wasn't properly cremated and that we couldn't help him or save him. I told him I believed it was time for him to move on to his next life or rest in peace or do whatever it is that spirits do but not to come back here since there was nothing left for him in this life. 

I walked back through the forest with the full moon as my torch... I had the feeling that no elephant spirit was going to wake me up ever again. And guess what? It didn't. 

More to come,

Karla Nova

Mae Khan Mai

The ECC owns 5 elephants for breeding purposes: 1 male and 4 females. Every elephant has its own personality and history; but because I’ve been working with Mae Khan Mai (pronounced “Mekamai”) since I got here I want to share her story first. “Golden Silk” was purchased about a month ago from a logging camp; the center was looking for a young female elephant for months now however it was a matter of getting the right elephant… The one who needed us the most.

She was in pretty bad condition: overworked, skinny, lethargic, full of cutaneous parasites, had bloody feces and most importantly, afraid of people. We knew instantly we HAD to take her with us. We made an offer but within hours an elephant camp exceeded us (in Laos, an elephant costs around US$20,000 in case you were wondering). The possibility of this poor elephant being purchased by an elephant camp was terrifying! The uncertainty of what would happen to her… a lot crossed our minds: Would she get appropriate veterinary care? Would they overwork her with elephant treks?... Would they hurt her?! There are just a hand-full of elephant camps that DO care about elephants, normally its just business.

Mae Khan Mai waiting happily for her treatment while eating corn

In the end, the mahout realized that the elephant would be better off with us (yes, mission accomplished!). Now the real work starts: 

Getting a Heart Rate

Mae Khan Mai was brought to the ECC; I treated the bloody feces with what we had (penstrep, cimetidine and fluids) and the cutaneous parasites with ivermectin, which left a few skin abscesses behind. For me the hardest part is that she is scared to death of everything, I seriously think she was abused at the logging camp…And on top of that, because I jabbed her, she is now scared of me too and that just breaks my heart. Some of the behaviors that I've noticed are: she pees as soon as she sees me, she makes stress sounds and sometimes she will put her trunk in her mouth when she is in pain (yes, just like a baby!). This obviously devastates me…I have no idea what to do about it or how to comfort her. Elephants don’t seek human contact like pets do. I feel such helplessness. I am always rewarding her with her favorite treat (sugar cane!) but elephants never forget, especially the veterinarian.

I am trying to find information about retraining and rehabilitating abused elephants; I feel I need to do something about this, I wish to heal her, and not just medically speaking. Golden Silk was assigned a new mahout when she got here too so I will give her time to adapt to him as well.

It is so easy to fall under her spell because she is such a sweetheart; I have never felt in danger or threatened by her...and I have had time to bond with her: she likes to be fed directly into her mouth (as im doing in the picture below), she doesn't like her trunk to be hugged or be bathed with a hose. She also walks very slowly, she likes banana trees (but not the leaves) and her eyes tell me everything I need to know: she wants to be saved. And that is exactly what I am going to do.

Karla Nova 

Living it Laos Style

After returning to the ECC from Hongsa, William left to Vientiane (the capital of Laos) leaving me alone for a full week without any translator or any idea of what to do… fun, right? So this is what I have been doing during the last 3 weeks:

-Drive to town to run the hospital errands: It is not as easy as it sounds, what is normally a simple task here in Laos is a very stressful and consuming thing; especially because I don’t really drive stick, I don’t have a clue where anything is and I don’t know the language (making it challenging to buy something at the market and there’s no point in asking for directions). I also soon came to realize that there is no “rush” in Laos, it doesn’t matter how fast I want to get things done—I still have to drink and eat everything that I am offered wherever I go! When I am asked if I liked it, and I say “yes,” they serve me more.  If I answer “no,” they ask me to try it again! So there you go, there is no escape.

The car they assigned to me

Xayaboury Market

-Manage the hospital: The hospital has been recently built, but for me is more of a pharmacy rather than a real hospital. It runs by solar power, so there is equipment we cannot even connect, there isn’t a blood analysis machine or an ultrasound, and there isn’t an indoor treatment area. I am currently working on the pharmacy inventory, managing the elephant’s diet, organizing and cleaning the hospital as well as looking for funding to build an indoor area where we can perform treatments, surgeries and radiographs. Does anyone have any ideas on where to look for funding?

Buying corn for my patients!

-Treat 3 elephants.....and a cat! Right now I have 4 patients: Mae Kham Mai, Donoi, La and Meiu. Mae  Kham Mai is a female elephant recently bought by the ECC (we have 5) who is in bad condition; she had cutaneous parasites all over her body, foot problems and bloody feces. Donoi is a naughty male that had a huge chronic back abscess from the logging saddle and La is a small female who has a corneal ulcer in one eye and is blind in the other. Meiu is a male adult cat that has been breeding with all the stray females. I did the anesthesia (IV, no gas) and neutered him myself; my previous supervisors at the SDHS should be proud! So you might think 4 patients is nothing, but every little thing takes lot of time when it comes to these gentle giants, especially because they have to be “willing” to participate.

Donoi entering the holding :)

Treating Donoi's back abscess

Meiu, which means "cat" in laos

-Play doctor! I have treated 3 guests until now: 1 scorpion sting and 2 motorbike burns. My two-legged patients have been pretty happy with the outcome and their favorite part is that they get to hang out with elephants in the waiting area. Any suggestions? I would appreciate any advice on human first aid.

Hospital's waiting area: Donoi and Mae Khan Mai

-Be a movie star: I was recently featured in a short film about the ECC, playing the roll of the vet. This video will soon be available to promote the center and the work we do.

Action!

- Living it Laos Style! Drinking starts at 6pm, and if I am lucky enough they will offer me BeerLao instead of Lao Lao (rice whiskey)… Here beer is served with ice and we all drink from the same glass, so you have to drink it quickly to pass it around.  My only hope is that no one has oral herpes. The main food is sticky rice and is eaten with your hands (steamed rice is eaten with chop sticks); everyone eats from the same big plate (sharing is caring), and no silverware is used whatsoever. No one speaks any English, but they do know how to say, “you are beautiful” and they manage to ask me if I want a Lao boyfriend.

The ice helps me get less drunk!

Cuddling with Mae Dok!

Now you know why I haven’t been able to post anything… it’s been insane!

Karla Nova

Hiking in Hongsa!

After spending a night here at the ECC, the head vet (William) and I departed to a small town 2 hours north called Hongsa. We were suppose to meet a group of tourists who were going on an elephant trek with a company called Green Discovery and wanted a couple of people that could talk to them about the elephants and the Lao culture (apparently I am an elephant expert already).

My day in Hongsa started with a cup of Lao coffee (pretty good coffee BTW) because it isn’t polite to drink water before or even during breakfast (not sure why). My options were eggs with bread (western breakfast) or noodle soup… I obviously got the eggs. Hongsa it’s a small town with nothing to offer but it hosts a lot of elephants since several mahout families live here and the surroundings are very beautiful as well so it was the perfect departure point for our elephant trekking. The market wasn’t attractive at all but I did notice that here in Laos the animals are smaller than in the western hemisphere. The cows, the horses, the dogs, even the chickens are skinny and funny looking. Regarding the people, I feel pretty tall most of the time so that says it all… I guess the only big living creatures in Laos are the elephants and the insects! OMG, the insects are ridiculously huge! If you are afraid of bees, flies, ants or spiders, you might be terrorized when you come to Asia.

During our 4-hour hike through farms, small villages and the forest, the tourists went on their elephants while Dr. William and I went on foot, which was lots of fun since I got to interact with the elephants all the time; I even got to see Water Buffalos and Asian Openbill Stork! The elephants were funny and very frisky; every time they saw something they like to eat (like banana trees) they would stop to grab a bite (or two). I soon came to realize (after almost being squeezed a couple of times) that it didn’t matter if I was in between them and their treat.

3 Asian Openbill Stork

3 Water Buffalos 

At the end of the hike we were invited to a Baci, which is a buddhist ceremony where you are wished a healthy life as well as good luck on your journey. The translator explained how we all have 32 souls (or from what I understood) and as we sin throughout our life we slowly loose them… So during the baci the shaman recovers all your lost souls so that you are completed once again. The ritual includes traditional Lao music, prayers, food (which to my surprise is REALLY spicy) and “lao lao”, their homemade rice whisky that you have no choice but to drink (several times) as a shot! To complete the Baci everybody in the room ties a piece of string around your wrist while saying good things to you, this white long string has to stay on for at least 3 days!

Shaman and me

Strings around my wrist

Today I got to play with elephants, hike thru breathe-taking landscape and recover all my lost souls while getting drunk on lao lao. Not bad for a first day, right?

Karla Nova

My Little Paradise

Words cannot describe the beauty and magic of this place. Located next to beautiful Nam Thien Lake, the ECC is composed of 6 rentable bungalows, guesthouse with a few rooms, shower house, restaurant, elephant museum / muhout school, staff living quarters, and the “hospital” which is more of a pharmacy than a real hospital. The site also includes a breeding area, observation terrace, and deck. The terrace and deck are great places to glimpse the elephants bathing and interacting with their babies.

Mothers of all species can be quite dangerous when they feel their young are threatened, and elephants are big enough to make mommies a very serious threat. We try to minimize human contact to avoid unnecessary risks and prevent development of behaviors that might contribute to elephants venturing into villages more frequently. Sorry guys, no baby cuddling for you. Moms and their babies get their run of the land across the lake from the main compound.

What I like the most is how sustainable and eco-friendly this place is. Everything runs on solar polar, the water is filtered from the lake and meets European shower standards, and they use natural gas to heat it (I can be in the middle of nowhere but I still like my hot shower!). NOTHING is plastic. The food is totally organic, locally grown or bought in the market every morning. Every “building” is a combination of rosemary wood, bamboo and thatch. Things are quite basic yet very nice and cozy.

Nam Thien Lake 

View from the restaurant

Observation terrace

Time for a bath!

Elephant Museum and Mahout School

The "Hospital"

Guesthouse

Rooms in the guesthouse

And yes, the first thing I did was hop on an elephant "Mahout-Style"! :)

The view of the lake surrounded by mountains with soundtrack of elephants and giant geckos is as close to perfect as it could get. I am LOVING my little paradise. 

More to come,

Karla Nova

Getting here!

It doesn’t matter where you are coming from it is quiet a journey to get to The Elephant Conservation Center (which from now on I’m referring to as ECC), located in Sayaboury province, in Laos. After 4 flights (San Diego-Los Angeles-South Korea-Bangkok-Luang Prabang), a 3-hour drive and a ferry ride, I finally got here.

It was a total of 22 hours flying, and that is without counting the layover time. So if you ever decide to visit this side of the world, prepare yourself mentally and emotionally. Something I found pretty funny was that for some reason everyone thought I was South Korean, (which supports my friend’s belief that I look a little Asian)…so the people sitting next to me on the plane and even the flight attendants never spoke to me in English until they obviously realized I didn’t know what the hell they were saying. I did not even bother explaining that I am actually Dominican.

So there are three things you MUST do when traveling through South Korea:

1. Fly KAL: You cannot go wrong when flying with Korean Airline. They worked very hard in making my 13-hour flight from LA to Seoul pretty pleasant. The plane was huge and the seats were comfortable (with 10 seats per row and around 60 rows!). The flight attendants are very kind and go out of their way to make you happy and lets not talk about all the movies they have (from Hollywood hits to Chinese “telenovelas”), the awesome food and the all inclusive bar. Yes, you read it right: I drank until I fell asleep. I can’t imagine what you get if you fly first class. 

2. Eat bibimbap: Bibimbap is a signature Korean dish. It is basically rice, vegetables, meat, and a fried egg, all separately. The idea is for you to mix it all together in a bigger bowl adding chili paste with sesame oil and voila! It is delicious and fun to prepare, it even comes with its own instructions!

3. Dance Gangam Style: Do not expect to arrive to South Korea and see Psy shops everywhere. I was really disappointed when I couldn’t find a t-shirt. Do not get me wrong, Asians love Psy but I have to admit I was the only crazy person “gangam styling” at the airport. I couldn’t stop myself, and neither should you!

:)

 Karla Nova 

What, Where, When and Why.

My adventure begins in Laos.

Laos is a multi-ethnic country in the Southeast Asia with a population of only 6.5 million people (even the Dominican Republic has more people!). Laos is a very poor country and its surrounded by Thailand, Burma, China, Vietnam and Cambodia, some of which are emerging superpowers.

The kingdom of Lan Xang, founded by a Lao prince in the 14^th century, was originally the name of the country and it means “The Kingdom of one million elephants”. Thousands of years ago, elephants were the main military force (and yes, they were used in battles), so to announce that you have one million elephants, was like saying to your enemies that you have nuclear weapons.

There are less than 1000 elephants left in Laos, and only around 400 remain wild. Which means that most of them are domesticated and owned by the Mahouts. A mahout is a person that rides an elephant. Usually, a mahout starts a a kid when he is assigned an elephant early in its life and they would be attached to each other throughout the elephant's life. They will grow up together, live together and work together. When an elephant cannot work anymore (because its age or medical conditions), then they both retire. This is the most romantic and yet the most dangerous job ever.

The Elephant Conservation Center its the only institution of its nature in Laos, they provide free veterinary care to all these elephants, have a breeding program and an education program to try to teach the people of Laos why is so important to protect them. As a conservationist, this is the type of volunteer work I always wished to be involved with: Not just helping an endangered specie, but helping the people, and ultimately saving a culture.

So whenever the people ask me why I chose to work with elephants and of all places, why Laos; my answer to you is that I didn’t choose anything. Laos chose me, the land of one million elephants chose me.

Karla Nova

PS: Pictures not taken by me.