Mahouts matter: The Elephant Conservation Center’s essential workers

Introductory note by Hollis Burbank-Hammarlund, Director, Work for Wild Life International, a “Good Tourism” Insight Partner:

The concept of ‘essential workers’ has been front and centre since the COVID-19 virus struck our world earlier this year. Doctors, nurses, paramedics, as well as teachers, grocery store workers, transportation staff and so many others have been working tirelessly to support essential human needs during the pandemic.

For captive Asian elephants, however, the most essential workers are mahouts — people who work with and tend elephants.

This blog, written by Anabel Lopez-Perez, a wildlife biologist at the Elephant Conservation Center in Laos, and edited by me, tells the story of their work and underscores the importance of keeping mahouts on the job during the pandemic. Dr Susan Mikota, Dr Janine Brown, and I have chosen to support them through our Elephant Healthcare & Welfare Emergency Lifeline Fund.

The Elephant Conservation Center (ECC) was founded in 2011 with the goal of reintroducing socially coherent groups of healthy elephants to a safe and protected natural forest. Located in Sayaboury province in Laos, the ECC has 530 hectares of forest. It hosts 34 elephants and employs 67 staff, 33 of whom are mahouts. In normal times, the Center is supported by visitors who provide 90% of its total revenue.

But these are not normal times. With the arrival of the COVID-19 virus and the disappearance of tourists, funding to support the ECC’s elephants has dropped precipitously since March of 2020.

For the full story, please visit https://goodtourismblog.com/2020/11/mahouts-matter-the-elephant-conservation-centers-essential-workers/