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Bandar Lampung, Lampung (ANTARA) – The sound of cicadas under the shade of trees and dense branches led us to the Way Kambas National Park Reserve.
The humid atmosphere filled with the scent of wood and soil is in keeping with the park, which is home to the Sumatran elephant (Elephas Maximus Sumatranus).
Visitors to the Wekambas Elephant Training Center can see a herd of trained elephants that will accompany rangers on patrols in the area.
The elephants lined up in neat rows and returned to their home – the savannah.
You can see mahouts, or people who take care of the elephants, leading the elephants back home.
The scene was a stark contrast to the one during the coronavirus pandemic when no tourists passed through to see the Sumatran elephants.
However, the Huycambas National Park announced through the announcement number: PG.2106/T.11./TU/HMS/12/2023 that it will receive tourists again from December 20, 2023, after the end of the new crown epidemic.
The park reopened soon after a Sumatran elephant calf was born in East Lampung, Lampung province, on November 11, 2023. This was the second elephant calf that year, following the birth of a male elephant named Yongki in April 2023.
The birth of the baby elephant has attracted widespread attention from major domestic and foreign media and Internet users, who have expressed their happiness at the birth of the Sumatran elephant, a protected animal in the national park.
Sumatran elephants are also the pride of Lampung people.
related news: 40 Sumatran rhinos in the Wecambas National Park
New tour packages
The Wekampas National Park has introduced a new package that no longer allows visitors to ride elephants and watch circus-like elephant performances.
Currently, tour packages prioritize conservation education for protected species and take into account concepts of sustainability, animal welfare, and community empowerment.
From the center of Bandar Lampung city, it takes two and a half hours or 105 kilometers to reach Weikambas National Park by road.
This 1,300 square kilometer protected park has fresh air and lush vegetation.
After watching the elephant patrol, visitors can park their vehicles at the entrance of the elephant training center and take the shuttle bus provided by the national park.
At the elephant training center, a baby elephant named Yongji, with narrow eyes and sparse hair, happily greeted tourists, prancing and stamping his feet with joy upon seeing guests.
Yongji was born in 2023 and is now growing up healthier, becoming part of the next generation of Sumatran elephants in the Wekampas National Park.
Yongji greets tourists with his little nose, inviting them to interact, play and push each other. He also curiously checks tourists’ belongings and occasionally comes to his mother, as if he really wants to tell her about his experience playing with tourists.
Meeting baby elephants is a highlight of visiting Waigangbas National Park, as elephants have a long regeneration cycle so it takes a long time to see them.
In addition to direct interaction with the elephants, visitors can choose from a variety of elephant tour packages, such as bathing the elephants for 30 minutes during elephant care hours (which are from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. local time), feeding the elephants, and watching and observing birds around the Outer Harbor Baths.
Meanwhile, the ticket price is IDR 5,000 per person on weekdays and IDR 7,500 per person on holidays.
“Groups of school children or group tourists must first consult the centre. Meanwhile, you can buy elephant (interaction) packages at partner shops, which will also be accompanied by a guide,” explained Rahman, a ticket seller.
The number of tourists visiting the Huy Kambas National Park fluctuates. During holidays, there are many visitors, but on weekdays, there are fewer visitors, as the park mainly attracts tourists with special interests, such as playing with elephants.
The Wecambas National Park also plans to cooperate with surrounding villages to carry out animal conservation tourism, inviting tourists to learn about the processing process of cassava food in the village.
In the village, visitors can try Trigona Beekeeping and making eco-prints. The tour ends at the Elephant Training Center.
By strengthening the buffer villages, tourists can experience life in the villages surrounding the national park, which will contribute to the economic development of rural communities.
At the same time, the Lampung Provincial Government designed an integrated conservation tourism concept.
The surrounding village communities are believed to play an important role in maintaining the conservation of the Waykambas National Park and protecting the elephants from poaching.
Darmawan, a tourist, said that the concept of tourism in Weykambas is different now.
“Now, the facility is more comfortable for the elephants to play, feed and bathe,” he said.
A change of approach Kambas’ tourism concept has made it friendlier to animals and the environment. Visitors can now greet Sumatran elephants again, albeit in a different way, and the elephants are living more freely and more prosperously.
related news: Way Kambas Festival promotes importance of wildlife
Editor: Yuni Arisondi Sinaga
Copyright © ANTARA 2024
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