The Phu Ly nightwatch for elephants

Cuong on elephant in his watchtower tree house on his mango farm

One Up, One Down is the name of a wild elephant in Phu Ly Village in Dong Nai that everyone knows.

When people talk about seeing an elephant or filming an elephant this is the one they always talk about. He is so tame that some people feed him while they film him on their mobile phones. The other elephants that raid the local farms are too shy (or wise) to approach humans and only do raids at night, but One Up One Down is very bold – he comes anytime.

This big five ton bull elephant loves sugar cane and mangos. He has one tusk that points down and one that points up – hence his name. Sometimes he lashes his big long trunk around like cracking a whip, then eats some more mangos. Vietnamese believe that elephants can understand what humans say – there’s a spiritual connection there. One Up One Down is just a very naughty elephant.

Cuong has a two hectare mango farm that he guards every night. Last year the elephants destroyed 30 of his trees. Two years ago he had 12 come in one night. They just come down the road and wander in to eat the mangos. They come in pairs or groups and will consume 300kg of mangos in a few hours.

From Cat Tien National Park that lies just to the north they have increased their feeding grounds to include the fertile farming land in Phu Ly where Dong Nai Nature Reserve is. Cuong says for the last four years he has had to stand watch over his farm at night – the big creatures that tower almost twice as high as a human come anytime between 5pm to 2am but Cuong normally goes home around 10 or 11. He says he prefers sleeping with his wife than in his tall treehouse lookout, even though it’s well decked out with bamboo floor, walls, roof and a hammock. From up there he can light up his whole farm with a powerful spotlight. The elephants don’t like the light in their face.

You might think it’s lonely out there sitting in a tree house with a spotlight every night, but there are other men on elephant nightwatch in the area and there are some wandering cicada collectors who like a chat to break up the moonless monotony.

In the farm across the road Phong has a rough camp with a tarp, some hammocks and a fire in the middle of his mango orchard. Drinking rice wine from a plastic bag and eating rice soup with chicken, Cuong, Phong and other mango farmers, sit on flattened cardboard boxes and while away the hours of darkness. I am the only one in the group that wants the elephants to come; in his early 20s Phong often goes to the temple to pray that they don’t. If they do, he has air guns that make a big noise but don’t shoot anything to scare the elephants away. Phong doesn’t like the business of chasing the elephants away – he has a healthy fear.

There have been casualties in this conflict over land between humans and elephants in Dong Nai – some men have been killed by angry elephants and the authorities warn people of the dangers; while some elephants have been poisoned. But I didn’t observe that any of the locals held any menace towards these majestic animals – only a willingness to stay up late and co-exist.

(Source: SGT)