He's the one who pioneered Elephant Back Safaris in Africa. Spriha Srivastava chats up Randall Moore, the ‘Elephant Whisperer’ who, at his Abu Camp in Botswana, offers…
How did you come up with the idea of elephant back safaris?
I started in the 70s. I had started working with elephants by chance. I dropped out of the engineering school and a friend put me in the elephant business with renowned people in America (Morgan Berry). I had then helped off load, from a truck, a 29-year-old Asian female elephant that was being brought back from the zoo to the farm. That was the most amazing day of my life. Slowly I started moving close to elephants and sensed something special going on between the people and animals in that farm. I was offered to join this work and so I went up there and started working there. I learnt to train African elephants. I had taken a break for a couple of years to study but was told that Eloise (Berry's partner) had been killed and a few days later Morgan Berry was killed by one of the Asian elephants, so I went there to carry it further. Then I got the idea of starting something with African elephants... and on discussion with my friend, Peter, the idea of riding elephants came up. So thats how I started 18 years ago in Botswana and at that time didn’t know if it would work, but today, it’s successful.
Is it difficult to reintroduce these trained animals to the wild?
I want animals to get back to their natural herd. I’m glad we have the permission to do that. We have been releasing trained elephants back to wild and it has been done successfully. There is a method to do this and initially it’s problematic but in about a few weeks or a month, we have observed that they readjust in the wild. We have an 18-year-old elephant which is going to be released. It was captured from the wild. There was one elephant which did not want to be ridden after 12 years. So within a year she was released and now she has recently given birth. We have seen the baby being born. We had captured another female who was abandoned and was stuck in mud...she is in the elephant riding program.
Elephant trade remains debatable and it has been stopped in India. Is that imminent elsewhere too?
I have travelled to many places like Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Thailand etc. I haven’t been to India, but in most of the places the problem is that people abuse animals. In Africa, now there are many who have emulated my idea of elephant back safaris but don’t train and treat the animal properly. We have the same debate in South Africa. Riding on an elephant is the most adventurous thing. On an elephant back, the experience of sitting tall, watching other animals, from buffalos to lions pass by, is a different experience. Safaris are also a good way to bring people closer to animals and make them develop an attachment for wildlife. It is a very good form of education as well.
What is the unique thing about your Abu Camp?
Elephant back (safari) in Abu Camp is unique because no one else does this in the Okavango delta. It is the world’s largest inland delta. What we do is very eco friendly. Our footprint on that land is minimal. We have the most amazing people around the world who have joined us. You wouldn’t have the Okavango delta anywhere else, which is unique.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
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