Did a Four-Hour Drive Outside Pekanbaru on Saturday.....

.....and visited an elephant conservation area.

By our standards it wasn't much of a preserve, but in Indonesia it is at least an attempt by someone to save these animals. Unfortunately we arrived in the heat of afternoon and the adults were off in the trees but we did get to see up close three young--two females and a bull--all around two years or younger.

The preserve itself is very basic but provides what the elephants need--a small river running through it, foliage to eat, and protection from poachers. Asian elephants are much smaller than the African species and these three were very tame and gentle. I think they were a little disappointed we didn't bring anything for them to eat because they got bored pretty quickly and took off but I got to hand feed one some grass.

The preserve itself is a pretty sad place--located right in the middle of an oilfield and really isolated from the main road but like I said, at least they're trying.

Another sad problem here is that in this area 65% of the forest has been cut down and replanted with palm trees in the past 25 years and palm oil is a major export in Indonesia. The problem is that elephants don't eat palm fruit and are quickly losing their habitat. It is really devastating the elephant population on Sumatra. The famed Sumatra tiger is also quickly disappearing.

On the way back, we came across a motorcycle doing probably 40-45 mph. The driver had a passenger behind him holding onto a wheelbarrow. If it had slipped out of his hands, the car behind them would never have been able to avoid it. Whatever it takes to get the job done, I guess......