Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary

During one of those long weekends with Friday being a public holiday, we joined a couple of friends and their kids for a short getaway to nearby Janda Baik. I have always wanted to take Snufkin to the Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary so since we were already in that neck of the woods, a short detour was all that was needed to have a fun-filled day with the elephants. Or so we thought. We had been back in Malaysia for just 7 months so had completely forgotten to factor in the fact that on any extended weekend 3/4 of the population would leave KL, and 3/4 of those would be going to the East Cost. Karak Highway was heaving with cars - it made the Easter getaway on UK's M1 looked like Iceland's Ring Road. In the end, it took us more than 3 hours to get there, a journey that should have taken the most 2 hours.




Source: Wonderful Malaysia

The Elephant Sanctuary was initailly set up as a relocation programme for wild and displaced elephants whose natural habitat has been encroached by men in their pursuit of agricultural advancement. Since then, not only has the centre succesfully relocated hundreds of elephants, but it has also gained the cult status as the place to go in Peninsular Malaysia for anything to do with elephants. And therein lie the problem. The centre attracts increasing crowds, and thus becomes more like a zoo than a sanctuary. Previously, you could go on elephant rides and bathe the elephants to your heart's content. All this was put to a stop sometime in 2012 due to the enforcement of the Wildlife Protection Act 2010.

I called the centre a few days before the trip to enquire about activities for kids.  Apparently they still have the elephant bathing sessions although the number of people allowed in each session is very limited. The nice lady on the line suggested that we take a package that included the elephant bathing session and jungle trekking on an easy trail to an Orang Asli settlement. The price that she quoted for the 5 kids that we had between us were very reasonable and I immediately booked our place. Alas, a day before the trip I got a call from her saying that the elephant bathing session had to be cancelled as it had been raining for a couple of days making the water level dangerous for the elephants.

We still went to the Elephant Sanctuary and saw that they had put up a red flag in one of the huts by the banks of the river, indicating that all water-related activities were cancelled. The river looked like someone had just emptied truckloads of teh tarik into it. I was secretly relieved by the cancellation.

The elephants at the Sanctuary were caged with fences that were made of logs. Their legs were shackled and most of them looked like they had some kind of skin disease (or is that how elephants should look like? After all, Dumbo is only a cartoon character). I read that some visitors were appalled at the condition of the elephants and accused the handlers of mistreating the elephants. I did not see any mistreatment and I will not judge based on a visit that lasted only for an hour or two.  

Obviously, the kids were only concerned with feeding as many sugar cane sticks and bananas as they could. You put out a banana and that long curling trunk with dripping bodily fluids would move towards you and somewhat gracefully take the banana from your hand. Snufkin made many trips to the stall selling bananas and sugar cane sticks (RM5 and RM3 per bunch respectively), seemingly bent on giving the elephants the feast of their lives.

We also saw the handlers washing the cutest baby elephants. Then there was a show of some sort with the handlers trying to get the elephants to do tricks. Of course it was nothing like what you would see in a zoo or circus but hey, this was a sanctuary after all and the elephants looked like they'd rather be elsewhere chomping on more sugar canes.

By the end of the show, it was approaching noon and becoming unbearably hot. It was our cue to leave, and after a simple lunch and the obligatory ice-cream session at the refreshment stalls, we set off for the verdant hills and cooling streams of Janda Baik.

A word of advice that I have for those wishing to come here: Manage your epectation. Although the exhibits near the entrance were informative and rather cleverly done, this is a small sanctuary and without the elephant rides and elephant bathing sessions that seemed to be expected by most, there is little else to do besides feeding the elephants, watching the short show and perhaps having a picnic i the grounds. But I was okay with that and Snufkin seemed to enjoy himself. If there was going to be a second time, I would definitely have it combined with the jungle trekking to the Orang Asli settlement.