Indonesians, Thais Clear Tsunami Debris With Elephants - ENN

[hatrack]

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The massive waves, which killed 5,000 and left nearly 4,000 missing in Thailand, dumped debris more than a mile from the popular beaches of Phuket island and Phang Nga province a week ago. While heavy machinery works on the tangled wreckage that used to be posh seafront resorts, some areas are too muddy or hilly for anything other than 4 foot drive.

So the Wang Chang elephant farm in the 17th-century Thai capital of Ayuddhaya offered to send in its best pachyderms. They arrived by truck Sunday in Phang Nga and got to work immediately -- after a quick shower to cool off in the tropical heat. "The six were chosen because they are smart and can act on command," said Romthongsai Meephan, one of the elephant farm's owners.

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"They will be assigned to work in towing heavy objects and pulling out debris," said Siriphong Leeprasit, a district official in Phang Nga. "Elephants could work better in pulling out the remains of collapsed buildings and houses, especially in areas flooded with mud or hilly areas."

In Indonesia, another 11 elephants -- native to badly hit Sumatra island -- have been pressed into similar duty because there were few trucks and other heavy equipment to do the job there. A TV report showed them pulling a sport utility vehicle from a collapsed building.

Cranes and backhoes have been used to open routes to areas cut off in Thailand, but many local residents have complained that assistance has been slow to arrive and some areas have still not been accessed, particularly near Khao Lak beach, another hard-hit tourist zone about 50 miles north of Phuket. So two of the elephants headed into a rough forested road that was blocked by uprooted palm trees, cement utility poles, cars, motorbikes and TV sets. A gray police patrol boat had washed up on a hill, more than a mile from the beach. The receding waters left behind two murky saltwater lakes."

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http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=6855

[htuttle]

1. Welcome to the Wang Chang Elephant Farm

Man, I wish they sold T-Shirts with their logo on it. Elephants are incredible creatures, captive or free. Smart as you or I -- or as smart as my brother, anyway.

I'd much prefer they be free, but if they continue to be kept as domesticated animals, they probably won't all go extinct for the time being. We've destroyed so much habitat that their future in the wild doesn't look good over the next century.

[blindpig]

3. you think well of your brother

I was an elephant keeper at a mid sized zoo back in the 70's. Elephants, judging from my limited experience, are sentient. They are self aware and possess a wicked sense of humor. In retrospect I think it is inadvisable to keep elephants in captivity, we cannot decently meet their needs physically or mentally.

The pity is that they will probably be gone from the wild before I'm personally extinct(I'm 50).

[burn the bush]

2. thats very cool

I mean thats how they do things there. It shows us that even though we sometimes think our ways are so superior, that peoples of other countries have their own ways and use their own resources to get things done.