Parks: Walking with Elephants

I've heard a lot about the Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary in Pahang but never made my way there. After all, it's in a different state, and I really didn't know what to expect.

Thanks to my friend who made all the arrangements and allowed us to tag along with her family this past school holiday.

It was a pleasant and relatively easy 1.5-hour drive from PJ, mostly down the Karak Highway with a 10-km trunk road to Lanchang. There is a huge sign right after the Kuala Gandah toll so you'd know to turn right.

Nice scenic drive

Hard to miss this

There were several packages available for visitors. If you just wanted to bathe the elephants (the main touristy attraction), it's RM10 per adult, RM5 per kid, plus RM50 for a guide fee (for a group of up to 10 pax).

Since it was our first visit, we decided to take the educational tour package for RM120 (we took 2 packages because of our large troop). This included a guide, a chance to get up close to the baby elephants, food preparation and feeding. The elephant bathing was an optional extra. There were different coloured stickers stuck to our ticket to show what we paid for.

There were several informative exhibits near the reception lobby.

One of our guides, Mina, was very friendly and informative. She lives in the area and has worked at the sanctuary for 3 years. Her father and brother worked at here before too, so it seemed like a natural progression. 

Our first stop was to visit the younger elephants, aged from 1 to 11. We were introduced to each of the elephants. The 27 elephants in the sanctuary are from the wild and were either injured or orphans. They can be unpredictable and some still have a mistrust of humans, hence adequate precautions are taken to ensure we do not startle them or get in their way.

Some elephants are named after the area they are found, such as Baby Lanchang (from the neighbourhood) or Siput, from Sg Siput, Perak.

Peanuts were provided for the kids to feed the babies.

It can be quite scary putting your hand close to the elephants mouth!

Selendang, aged 11, had her left front foot amputated when she was about 2 years old. Her right front leg is slightly bent now as it carries the brunt of her ever increasing body weight. If it progresses further, she risks paralysis later on in life. The center has fitted her with a prosthetic leg that she now wears an hour a day.

Selendang with and without her prosthetic leg

We were able to help chop up papayas to feed the elephants. Even the little ones helped out.

But only the adults were allowed into the pen to pour out the fruits.

Did you know ... An elephant can eat up to 300kg of food a day!
It costs RM100/day to feed 1 elephant; or RM2,700/day to feed all 27.

Did you know ... An elephant only digests less than half of what it eats?
That's a few hundred kg of poop a day!

Did you know ... secretion from the hole near the elephant's eye (the temporal gland) is a sign of aggression?
If you see stuff coming out, get out of the way!

After that, we took a break for lunch. There is a cafeteria, but you are allowed to bring your own food. There is a convenience store with cold drinks, ice cream and some souvenirs too.

The grounds were pretty large and shady with lots of nice spots for a picnic. And we found a large gazebo at the little playground area.

Shady spot for the mat

Overall, it was a surprisingly well planned place with lots of natural landscaping and little themed features. The bathrooms were clean but could be better maintained as some of the shower doors couldn't shut properly. 

You won't forget you're in an elephant sanctuary.

A herb garden

Nice infrastructure

Lovely pathways

After lunch, we went for a video show in a dark, cold room. It was a National Geographic show on elephant translocation work in Malaysia. It is a long, tedious, traumatic and sad process to bring an elephant out of its diminishing habitat to a safe haven such as Taman Negara National Park or Kuala Gandah. Often, when forests are cut down for plantations, and elephants are forced to enter these plantations to look for food, putting them in the way of humans and danger.

From there, we went to wait for the elephant conservation talk at the outdoor amphitheater. Although there was a shade and fans, it was still incredibly hot at 2-something in the afternoon, and the kiddos started getting antsy at this time.

The older elephants (30-40+ year olds) were introduced, and they demonstrated some of the simple working skills they've learned. No elephant rides are offered, but we were allowed to feed them with more fruits.

The older elephants with their keepers

A chance to get upfront and personal

Then the highlight of the trip ... elephant bathing time!

The guides brought the adult elephants in first to show how it is done.

Then visitors lined up to take turns to bathe the baby elephants in groups of 5

A place to put your belongings

Rub sand on the body and splash!

It was a short time, but lots of fun. Boy was all crabby from the heat, but he was a new and refreshed person after coming out of the river. The guides were excellent — they held the kiddos' hands, splashed them to loosen them up and helped us take photos with our cameras.

I liked that it wasn't too commercial. Most places would not allow people to bring outside food or make you pay for photos. But this was a place that was educational with people who were trained and passionate about their work. Our RM120 fee was not too expensive for this experience.

After we showered and changed, we had some ice cream before heading home. All kiddos knocked out on the journey back. Quite an eventful and well-spent day trip! 

Do check it out! But do note that there is a risk of flooding in December, so that may not be the best time to visit.