timber forests in, 7, 65, 141, 165
in World War II, 5–6, 62–91, 116, 125, 129; see also World War II
Burma Road, 64, 82, 83, 134
Burma-Siam Railway, 6, 85–86
Burmay-Moti (elephant), 5, 51–54, 60, 192
Burmese language, 55–56
camels:
breeding of, 8
domestication of, 104
Campbell, John, 105, 106, 109
Carthage, 100, 103, 231
Carthaginian Empire, 99–100, 101–3
catching wild elephants, 19–23
calves, 22, 23, 43
fandis (master elephant catchers), 19, 81, 180
importance of, 35
kheddah (stockade) method, 19–20, 22, 40–41
and maintaining population stability, 36
mela shekar method, 21–23, 37, 136, 138, 179
moral considerations of, 211
mother and calf captured together, 22, 43
pit method, 19
rituals for, 25–27, 29
and spirit-mahouts, 26–29, 43
and training, 138
as traumatic for elephants, 138
cattle, breeding of, 8
Ceylon, mahouts from, 108
chains, 37, 58, 117–23, 139, 211–12
Chakma people, 159
charcoal camps, 146–47, 150, 155
Chaukan Pass, 63, 64–70, 76–79, 80, 81, 82, 89, 142, 173, 182–84, 185
Chiang Kai-shek, 64
China:
agriculture in, 109–10
Burma as “back door” to, 63–64
jade trade in, 175, 177, 185
Kachin State projects financed by, 175
oil and gas pipelines financed by, 175
trade routes to, 186
Chindwin River, 181
Chindwin Valley, 56, 84, 87, 151, 152
Chin Hill, 65, 150
Chowkham, India, 43, 57, 58, 210
circus elephants, 115
cities, flooded, 202–6, 207
combat elephants, see war
concrete viaducts, 163, 214
Congo, see Belgian Congo
conservation, 192, 209–10
da Gama, Vasco, 100
Dambuk, India, 53, 54
during monsoon, 61
raftsmen in, 192, 193, 194
Dapha River crossing, 76–77
Darius, Persian emperor, 229
Daru Pass, 184
deforestation, 38–39, 61
and agriculture, 36–37, 109, 130, 141
and erosion, 195
forest-centered coalition vs., 36, 37, 130, 211
from logging, 156, 165, 191–92
from urban and highway development, 141, 191, 192, 209, 211
in wartime, 127, 129
and wildlife preserves, 141, 191
desertification, 103, 104, 114
Diamond, Jared, 221
Dibang River, 54, 193
Dihing River, 68, 226
confluence with Dapha River, 70, 74, 76, 78
New Dihing River, 57
Old Dihing River, 80
and Trans-Arunachal Highway, 213
Dihing Valley, 57, 76, 78, 111, 136, 147
elephant trade in, 55, 78
intermarriage in, 159
mahouts, regional origins of, 159
Sadiya (district capital), destruction of, 194
and Trans-Arunachal Highway, 162–63
dogs:
domesticated, 8
working relationships with humans, 221
domesticated, use of term, 220–21
ecology, mountain, 111
Ee Ying (Shan baby), 181
Egypt, Ptolemy rulers in, 100–101, 104, 106
elephant “corridors,” 55, 141–43, 183
elephants:
adaptability of, 58, 61, 113
African vs. Asian, see African elephants; Asian elephants
aggressiveness of, 33–34
“aunties” (adult females protecting calves), 132
bells worn by, 31, 58, 170
black tears of, 33, 171
bonds with humans, 7–10, 38–39, 43, 114–15, 122, 137–38, 143–44, 212–13
breaking up families of, 22
capturing, see catching wild elephants
chains of, 37, 58, 117–23, 139, 211–12
clearing river logjams, 48–51
cognitive traits of, 56–57, 58
in construction projects, 6, 59–60, 84–86, 173, 194
creativity of, see problem-solving
dexterity of, 43–44, 102
disciplining, tools for, 136
dislike of men’s trousers, 33
drugged, 139
and emergency situations, 3, 61, 90–91, 192–99, 203
environmental challenges to, 14
feet, 72
fodder required by, 34–35, 187
in fugitive cultures, 111
generations of, 8
going “on strike,” 82
guarded by humans, 61
as guides, 57
human domination of, 211–12
intelligence of, 10, 83, 118–23
ivory poaching of, 38, 210–11
khoonkie, 19, 21–22, 23, 24, 25, 27–29, 81, 159, 178
killer, 136
kind hearts of, 138
languages used with, 54–55, 61, 113, 119, 125
learning from their mothers, 47–48
in logging industry, 3, 7, 47, 89, 173, 210
logistic skills of, 102, 107
mating, see mating
migration of, 141–43
mobilization of, 61
mokona (without tusks), 31–32, 43–44, 142
in mud, 72–73
musth period of, 33–34, 139, 171
obstacles to breeding, 8, 9, 113, 236
opportunities to escape, 91
passengers with motion sickness on, 170
patrol work by, 201
picking up their dead masters, 58, 90
possible re-expansion of species, 190
pregnancies of, 6, 91, 171
productive work years of, 132
released into forest at night, 9, 34–35, 38–39, 58, 172, 186–87, 191, 202, 209, 212
“retired,” 149
river crossings by, 5, 6, 43, 51–54, 75–76, 86, 88, 102, 113, 134, 214
“rogue,” 138
situational awareness of, 58–59
species diversification among, 130
on steep hills, 40–42, 51
stresses on, 139–43
suicide of, 139
supplies moved by, 116
survival of, 10, 12, 38–39, 61, 88, 110–11, 112–13, 130, 212
thefts of, 170
and tourists, see tourist parks
trade in, 55–56
training, 138, 162, 178–80
transport via, 3, 6, 61, 65, 72–73, 102, 107–8, 114, 151–52, 164–66, 183, 210, 227, 235
tricks played by, 31
trimmed tusks of, 135
trunks of, 42
unique skills and abilities of, 61
unusual behaviors of, 139–40, 143
in wartime, see war
wild, see wild elephants
as work partners, 8–9, 29, 88
elephant trails, 1, 7, 55
Elephas genus, 96, 228
Epirus (Greek kingdom), 98–99
Ethiopia, British invasion of, 107
ethnic groups, 11–12
adjustment to forest life, 112
and Burmese independence, 173–74
exodus and self-reinvention of, 111–12
fugitive cultures, 111, 112–13, 124, 164
“hill tribe” minorities, 12
and religions, 157, 187
social intermixing of, 157–59
“tea tribes,” 160–61
“Zomia” highlanders, 111, 114
ethnic minority owners of elephants, 89
e
thno-elephantology, 11
ethnolinguistic areas, 55
extinction, 11
fandis (master elephant catchers), 19, 81
bonding of elephants and, 7–10, 38–39
song to elephants, 137
training work elephants, 38, 138, 178–80
Fellowes-Gordon, Ian, 83–84, 89
festivals and parades, elephants in, 35–36, 38, 95, 110, 194
flooding cycles, 207
forest preserves, elephants in, 141
forests:
elephant migration into, 110, 111
fragmentation of, 35, 55, 61
needed by elephants to survive, 38–39
Fort Hertz (Putao), 71, 172
fugitive cultures, 111, 112–13, 124, 164
Gadadhar (Ahom monarch), 80
Gale, U Toke, 49, 85
Gam (mahout), 45–46, 158
Gardiner (refugee), 69
genetic survival, odds of, 112–13
Goal (tracker), 226
Gohain (mahout), 226
gold panning, 150–51, 176, 181
GPS devices, 212
Grammon (elephant), 81
Great Zimbabwe kingdom, 109
Gribble, R. H., 83
Gudu (mahout), 117, 160
Gunjai (elephant), 30–34, 58, 151, 153
Hallett, Holt, 117
“Hamitic,” 106
Han invasion, 111, 158
Hannibal:
crossing the Alps, 66, 102, 104
personal elephant of, 102
vs. Rome, 101–2, 104, 230
Himalayas, 142
Hipparchus (geographer), 230
Hkamti language, 55–56, 113
Hkamti Long kingdom, 184
Hkamti mahouts, 80, 113, 158, 166–67, 187
Hkamti people, 27, 111
Ho Chi Minh Trail, 6, 118, 122–23, 127, 128, 167, 169
Homalin, Burma, 150–51
horses, breeding of, 8
Hpakant (jade-mining area), 131–33, 169, 172, 174–77
Hseng Noung (reporter), 181
Hughes, Richard, 176
Hukawng Valley, 71, 111, 126, 158, 166, 167, 169–70, 172
amber from, 176
armed bases in, 179
elephant migration route in, 142
flooding of, 73
Hukawng Valley Tiger Reserve, 179, 239
Imow (mahout), 150–52, 159
Indawgyi Lake, 131, 177
India:
agriculture in, 109–10
all-weather roads in, 192–93
aristocratic tradition of, 191
Assamese language in, 55, 158
elephant populations in, 191
elephants owned by kings and princes in, 95–96, 113–14
forest area in, 141–42
“land bridge” between Africa and, 99–100, 230
trade routes to, 186
wartime elephants in, 98, 101, 116
wild elephants in, 141, 165
wildlife parks in, 55, 114, 141, 143, 163, 191
Indian Ocean, earthquake and tsunami (2004), 3, 196–99, 216
Indo-African “land bridge,” 99–100
Indochinese War, First, 124
Indonesia:
elephants in, 165
forestry department, 200
tsunami in (2004), 216
Indus Valley, elephants tamed in, 95
Irrawaddy River, 2, 7, 152
proposed Myitsone dam of, 175–76
river crossings, 134, 177, 192
Irrawaddy Valley, 111, 173
ivory poaching, 38, 210–11
J. (guide), 131, 132, 134–35, 136
jade mines, 131–33, 169, 172, 174–77, 185
Japi Bum Pass, 134, 177
Java:
elephant disappearance from, 199, 204
human migration from, 200
Jewish narrative traditions, 104
Jinghpaw people, 167, 224
Justinian, Emperor, 103
Kachin Hills, 105, 164, 178
challenging terrain in, 172
elephants in, 130, 142, 174, 176, 184
gold panning in, 150–51, 176, 181
leech-caused blood poisoning in, 181–82, 183
Kachin Independence Army (KIA), 6, 7, 36, 58, 116, 117
cargo carried for, 170, 177
elephant-based transport system of, 164–71, 176, 177, 180, 187, 207, 210
elephant brigades in, 169–71, 178, 183, 184–86, 210, 216
elephants released into forest at night, 170
elephant training camps of, 171, 177–80, 181–82
fishing camp of, 182
Myitsone dam opposed by, 176
official cease-fire of, 175–76
and Tatmadaw, 126, 164–66, 168, 170, 171, 172, 175–76, 179, 185, 195
Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), 164, 168–69, 177, 187
Kachin language, 55–56
Kachin mahouts, 80, 158, 167, 182, 206–7
Kachin people, 27, 111, 158, 159
Kachin State, 6, 165–74
Anglo-Kachin coalition in, 173
and Burmese independence, 173
challenging terrain in, 169–70, 172
Christian missionaries in, 172–73
elephant-owning elites in, 176
heavily forested region of, 167, 176–77
insurgencies in, 174
jade mines in, 131–33, 169, 172, 174–77, 185
journalists in, 181, 186
Manau festival in, 168
refugees from, 166, 173
Triangle hill range, 172, 184
warfare in, 166
and World War II, 173
Kagung (guide), 46
Karbi Hills, 142
Karen languages, 112
Karen National Liberation Army, 116
Karen people, 55, 111–12, 124, 157, 173, 234, 236
Katha, Burma, 134, 142
Kaukkwe forest, 134, 142, 177
Kaziranga National Park, 142, 143
Khamus elephant domesticators, 124–25
Khao Lak, Thailand, 203
Kha people, 111, 124–26, 234
kheddah (stockade) method of catching wild elephants, 19–20, 22, 40–41
khoonkie elephants, 19, 21–22, 23, 24, 25, 27–29, 81, 159, 178
Kien (convoy commander), 118, 119, 120, 127
Kingdon-Ward, Francis, 68
Klangdot (elephant), 81
Kumon Mountains, 142, 178, 184
Lah Ong (elephant), 169
Lair, Richard, 129
Laiza, Burma, 169, 177, 185
Lakes Victoria and Albert, 106
Lake Tanganyika, 108
Lao peoples, 111
Laos, elephants in, 126, 129–30, 141, 234, 236
Lashio, Burma, 76, 134
Latai (elephant), 151
Ledo Road, 73, 81–82, 88, 169, 179, 186
Leopold II, king of Belgium, 108
Levant, control of, 100
Leyden (British refugee), 77
Lintner, Bertil, 178–79, 181–82, 186
Lin Wang (elephant), 86, 90
Lisu people, 182
Livingstone, David, 106–7, 109
Locke, Fred, 128
Lohit River, 142, 194–95, 241
Loxodonta genus, 96, 228
Luba kingdom, Congo, 109
Lucas, George, 104
Maccabees, 104
Mackrell, Gyles, 77–80, 82
Ma Gam (elephant), 83–84
Maggie (elephant), 73–76, 82, 83, 88, 89, 90, 91, 116–17, 125, 173, 192, 216
Mahalaseela people, 105, 106, 109, 232
mahouts, 1
bonding of elephants and, 7–10, 38–39, 43, 114–15, 122, 127, 137–38, 143, 212–13
command systems used by, 56
elephant calves owned by, 171
fading from memory, 82, 83
family members of, 148–49, 154
fetching elephants in
morning, 9
Indian, in Africa, 108
as “Indians,” 99
longyi worn by, 33
negotiating with their elephants, 117
on private logging tracts, 157
religions practiced by, 157, 187
strikes and labor agitation of, 82
training, 113
in villages, 153–55
women as, 145–52
Maji Bum, 178
Malaysia, deforestation in, 141
Mali Hka (river), 184
Manabum hill range, 43, 47
Maniema region, 106, 107, 109
Manipur, Japanese invasion of, 86, 173, 227
maps:
African elephant ranges, 92
Asian elephant ranges, viii
Central and Upper Burma (Myanmar), ix
Trans-Patkai region, x
Marinus of Tyre (geographer), 230
Martin, Andrew, 82
Mason, Robert, 128
mating:
domestic with domestic elephants, 35
and elephant pregnancies, 6, 91, 171
and genetic diversification, 130
and musth period, 33–34, 139, 171
and survival, 123, 130
under stressful conditions, 140
work elephants with wild elephants, 6, 9, 33, 35, 61, 91, 114, 117, 120–21, 122–23
Mats (Swedish traveler), 182, 183
Mau Hka (river), 126
Mebu elephant, trapped in rocks, 53–54
Mekong River, 2, 119
mela shekar method of catching elephants, 21–23, 37, 136, 138, 179
Memphis, Egypt, 100
Meroe, see Meroite people
Meroite people, 96–97, 100, 229
Mfecane (forced migration wars), 105
Miao, India 80, 183, 210
Millar (British refugee), 77
Miloswar (fandi), 27–29, 43, 57, 137, 159, 210
Mishmi (ethnonym for porters and trackers), 80
Mithong (logging area), India, 43, 47, 112, 117, 147, 148, 157, 194
mokona elephants (without tusks), 31–32, 43–44, 142
Mong Cho (mahout), 56, 131–37, 143–44, 147, 174, 177, 210, 212
Mongol invasion, 111, 158
Mong Shwe (mahout), 166–67
Mon mahouts, 173, 236
monsoon season, 2–3, 14, 130, 185–86
and concrete viaducts, 163, 214
elephants’ value during, 176, 183, 188, 195
emergency flooding situations in, 165, 194–99, 214
mountain forests in, 68–69, 72
river crossings during, 51–52, 192, 193–94
Moran people, 27, 158, 159
Moses (surveyor in Burma), 68, 69
Moulmein, Burma, 64, 84, 152
mountain ecology, 111
Musawwarat-es-Sofra temple (Meroe), 96
Muslims, and Year of the Elephant, 104
musth, 33–34, 139, 171
Myanmar, see Burma
Myanmar Timber Enterprise, 89
Myitkyina, Burma, 65, 69, 165, 168–69, 185
Myitsone, Burma, 175
Naga Hills, 142
Nagaland:
“Eastern Nagaland,” 180, 181
National Socialist Council of, 36, 180
Giants of the Monsoon Forest Page 25
