Read the passage carefully.

I had never encountered an elephant at close quarters until I visited an elephant relocation centre. After observing their behaviour and how they interact with their trainers and each other, I think their intelligence is amazing. Elephants are highly intelligent with relatively large, complex and slow-maturing brains. They have reasoning capabilities, can learn skills and have complex emotions experiencing pain, suffering, sadness, depression and grief. They love to wallow in mud and swish their bodies with grainy sand. As their skin is sensitive to the sun, the mud and sand form a sunscreen of sorts, protecting them from the sun’s harsh rays. In the cool, clear stream, the elephants exhibit their playful nature, spraying water over unsuspecting visitors and lying on their side in the stream.

The Elephant Training Centre in Kuala Gandah, Pahang, is the Malaysian Elephant Translocation Team headquarters set up in 1974. Wild elephants are close to extinction in Malaysia, and the team has increased the elephant’s population from 500 to 1200 in the past 20 years. In 25 years, they have successfully relocated 400 elephants. At the centre, five elephants are ranging in age from 6 to 50 years old. These ‘inmates’ are not show animals but working elephants specially trained to assist in translocation projects. The centre only keeps and trains female elephants as their temperament is more suitable for translocation work.

In Malaysia, the elephant is a symbol of conservation. However, they can’t roam without encroaching into plantations, estates, and villages due to rampant development. In this context, elephants are considered a nuisance. This is where the translocation team comes in. The centre is often called to relocate elephants from unwelcome territories to national parks. Wild elephants can be dangerous if threatened. The centre’s elephants are brought along to give moral support to wild ones who are frightened, angry and confused at being captured and chained. Two working elephants flank a single wild elephant, touching it with their trunk, providing comfort and calm in a slow and delicate process.

It may seem cruel to have the elephants in heavy chains, but a spokesman says it is unavoidable. The trip to the national parks may take hours and is very stressful for the elephants. The elephants must be moved to their new home as soon as possible as they may die out of despair and hopelessness. Visitors are shown a National Geographic documentary on how translocation is done. The centre has two teams with alternating roles. Each month, one team does translocation work while the other remains at the centre to handle day-to-day affairs. The staff’s dedication is evident. They are familiar with the principles, mission statement and aspirations for the centre. The keyword is ‘conservation’.

But knowledge is crucial to creating awareness, especially among the uneducated general public. Usually, it is not elephants that trespass into human territory. Instead, humans are the ones encroaching into elephant territory. The centre has noble goals but lacks ample funds to realize its vision. The objective is clear, but the process is slow. We may all have to do what we can to help.