LUCKY KALI
Update on April 2019
Nepali culture is rich with tradition and spiritual beliefs. Pujas are ceremonies to bless and ask for protection for achievements, changes, new arrivals or improvements.
This photo is from our last puja ceremony to bless the addition of fresh dirt in Lucky’s shelter. I love this photo as it shows the level of respect and admiration that Ratan has for Lucky. By placing his forehead tenderly against her trunk, he is honoring the Higher Being within her.
It was in the middle of a cold misty night when the sounds of trumpeting and rumbling woke me up. I sat in my bed while listening. Calm had returned and then suddenly the agitation resumed again. I dressed quickly, then opened my door cautiously. The coast was clear. I crossed the path which leads to the elephant’s corrals just a few meters from my room. The vocalizations were intense. I knew HE was there, somewhere in the night.
While I hid in a safe place, the atmosphere was filled by a symphony of sound and vibration similar in intensity to the rumbling thunder and the lightning crossing the sky. Lucky was the lead vocalist, as she is confident with expressing herself. The 3 other females were also agitated by the proximity of the wild bull known here as Ronaldo.
Wild male elephant “Ronaldo” in 2015, visiting the breeding center in Sauraha.
Ronaldo comes to visit in search of ovulating females and that night he spent hours wandering around and grabbing some food. Knowing that Ronaldo comes to visit, the mahouts hide the female elephant’s food on top of our supply of hay, but always leave a donation of some kuchis for him to avoid a destructive search.
The mahouts are used to his visits. They usually stay quiet and safe in their rooms, watching Ronaldo from a special hole in their wall, the sound of his breathing just a few centimeters away.
Later, while walking back to my room and crossing the path, I stop. There he was, 30 meters away, radiating in all his strength and magnificence. Our eyes meet before he turned his back and vanished in the night.
Lucky Kali in her spacious corral for the night.
For some time after his departure, Lucky continued to vocalize, while I lay in my bed, thinking how fortunate I am to experience moments like these.
I then remembered when I was a young child, watching a documentary on African elephants. I learnt how they live in a family herd, protecting and nurturing each other. I saw this as supreme happiness and dreamed of being with a herd of wild elephants that would protect me. That is when my love for elephants began. Now here I lay, drifting off to sleep with the scent of the wild bull Ronaldo on the wind.
A Misty morning on the Rapti river.
During Winter, which is the dry season, we had many beautiful morning walks with guests who marveled at Lucky, especially when she is crossing the river, probably like Ronaldo does in the jungle, taking her time and smelling the air.
While telling them about Lucky’s past life, similar to the stories of many other captive elephants here, I can feel the emotion and the respect that she inspires in them, making those encounters so very precious.
These are some of my favorite moments, when the sacred nature of life reveals itself in silence. Thanks to observing the elephants, human souls are soothed and united by this profound experience.
People can enjoy elephants and be moved by them without ever coming in close contact.
The many scars Lucky has on her skin remind us about her “past life” as a working elephant. Over the years her ankles have slowly collapsed due to tourist transportation. We are careful and vigilant, to avoid any excess stress to her worn out joints.
Recently we called the vets as an old wound at her knee became infected and formed a pocket of pus. This kind of injury is typical to elephants who have been forced to kneel down on hard surfaces to have the saddle put on and removed, and for visitors to climb on them for photos, thousands and thousands of times throughout their life.
Before Lucky’s retirement, when her work day finished, she was forced to kneel down for visitors to climb on her for a picture. This is a way for mahouts to make tips, as they are generally underpaid.
For a month, Ratan her mahout and I, cleaned the wound daily while Lucky was free in her corral. I am so amazed by her patience and cooperation. Lucky sometimes complains vocally but is encouraged by our praise and innumerable bananas. The treatment went well and her old wound is now clean. Because she is such a gentle and beautiful being, we can take good care of her easily.
Lucky also has a playful side, and for one year she could express this wild and fun aspect of her personality with her young friend Samrat.
The five year old bull, who belongs to Sapana Lodge can no longer be free due to safety reasons. He may play too hard and hurt Lucky with his tusks. Lucky had a wonderful time with this little guy for more than a year.
I am so grateful we were able to give both Lucky and Samrat the opportunity to bond and learn from each other. Lucky rediscovered her youth and her maternal side and Samrat learned what it was like to have a devoted carer, other than his mother in the special form of an auntie, who teaches but also is a provider of unconditional love.
The mahouts and I managed to go as far as we could for them but as young bulls become bigger and stronger, they are more confident and more difficult to control.
When his mother is working giving rides, Lucky continues her auntie role, but now Samrat moves around with a mahout astride him, to keep him from getting out of control. It is not the perfect situation, but it is what works best at the moment.
Besides the fact that the four females at Sapana lodge are still working giving rides, Lucky hasn’t made a friendship with any of them and we feel that she needs a companion. We have an eye on elephants who need retirement and could be good friends with Lucky.
Rhino sightings are an everyday occurrence in Sauraha.
Many women from the village go daily into the community forest to cut grass for their goats and this is not without risks. A tiger may come or a rhino could attack. They all return telling stories about running to hide or climbing a tree to escape a rhino.
We have working with us now a strong, older woman from Sauraha who goes in the jungle every day to collect the elephant grass to help us keep Lucky’s belly full. I am so thankful she accepted to work with us. Her salary helps to care for her entire family. There are very few wild animal attacks, but if you ask villagers, many of them will tell you a story about a relative chased or killed by a rhino. This is the reality of living on the edge of Chitwan National Park.
Sauraha village is exploding with new hotels being built and elephant tourism continues to grow. Meanwhile, the local population is poor and rural villagers survive with extreme weather, power cuts, while attending to their buffalos, goats, rice fields, taking it all in stride.
I would like to thank my dear friends and allies Raju and Shanti for their endless support in every way, since I first came to Nepal to help Carol Buckley. As a foreigner, it is difficult here to accomplish many tasks to move forward and I cannot imagine what I would do without their positive energy. They are very kind and generous people who always lend a hand when needed. Even with the responsibilities of caring for their own families and business, they are there if we need them and for this I am eternally grateful.
At the end of the day, when I arrive covered in sweat, tired and starving, Raju will laugh loudly at my disheveled appearance and Shanti will feed me directly in the mouth. When I feel drowned in difficulties, Raju will say, “shake your mane like a lion and all your problems will fall.” It works. I shake, we laugh some more and all feels well in the world.
Our warmest thanks for your support.
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