BNP Gulabkali
Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Wed 18 Apr 2018 22:57
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Gulabkali at the Bardia National Park
  This is Gulabkali a female born in 1956 and bought from Sarlahi.
The information board read: Elephant is an umbrella species. It is also
called the ecosystem engineers, as it helps in transforming the forests,
providing the micro-habitats for the invertebrates, dispersing the seeds and
maintaining the habitats. Hence, conserving the elephant population can help in
conserving the entire forest or habitat. It is estimated that Asian Elephant is distributed within 19
districts of Nepal and found in all the protected areas of the Terai
region.
On our visits to the park we saw her
each morning and evening.
   Asked by her handler to get down, she did, in quite a laborious
fashion.
  Once down she
tucked up her trunk and waited patiently. On went her single seat saddle.
   Once in
place, up she got.
   Asked to pass up
the rope, she did.
 Tightened
up.
 We saw her a little while later –
carer and one passenger, hope this is her only job of
the day.
  Another day we saw her going to work
with a seat for four.
   By chance, we walked by later that
day to see her laying down waiting to be unsaddled.
Wonder what is going through her mind – contentment, boredom, depression,
sadness.......difficult to know.
 Bear got to have a
little stroke and she raised her trunk in a pose.
 Judging by her carers posture, the seat is incredibly heavy.
 A big
yawn.
   Time to get
up.
 Chained under her
shelter.
 Wraps of
grass, hope there is something nice and tasty in the
middle........
   We left her to her
supper. Hoping she was born to this life – not broken to it........ Time
to go and meet a blind rhino called Vikram, across the path to her
left.
ALL IN ALL A GENTLE, HARD
WORKING GIANT
VERY MIXED
FEELINGS |