7. Three Mynamar Elephant Tales - Part 2

I summarise the 3 elephant stories and other side stories as narrated by the General Trader (GT) from Myanmar during my dinner invitation to him and BMW (Black Magic Woman) last Saturday at Dempsey Hills. How the elephant stories came about could be due to my asking him about his encounter with Myanmar elephants. I observed he was wearing a shirt full of small blue and white paired elephants and used this to break the ice to connect with him. Otherwise it would be one of those boring dinner encounters such as those at Chinese weddings.

"You are a good story teller," I had said to this soft-spoken man in his 40s. He replied, "These were real events, not stories." The stories are as follows:

1. THE MALE ELEPHANT WET BEHIND HIS EARS & THE SINGAPOREAN
The Singaporean businessman won a tender to supply fire-proof doors to the HDB (Housing Development Board) and asked the GT if he could source the wood from Myanmar. "I will take you to the jungles to inspect what you want if you pay for me expenses," GT said. It was getting dark at 5pm but the Singaporean was still busy marking out the tree logs he wanted to purchase. He could not be hurried. Tall jungle trees - much taller than any you would see at the Singapore Zoo, cast deep shadows. It was very dark now as the GT, the Singaporean, the Seller and the driver walked toward the truck. A full moon cast its light through the trees, providing some light.

Suddenly, they walked into the path of a large male elephant flapping his ears. Staring at the human.

"There is a male elephant released in the jungle because he had water dripping out behind his ears," the driver said. "When the male elephant is wet behind the years, he will not work and is very temperamental. So, he is excused from work and left to wander in the jungle to look for a mate. This is the one."

The elephant erected his ears and swung his trunk. He lifted his massive left foreleg. What to do now? The GT ran fast in one direction while the other 3 men fled together in another path.

Who should the elephant attack for invading hid privacy? 3 men or one lone GT? "I ran for my life," GT recounted. "The elephant was running faster and gaining on me. Luckily it was a full moon and the moonlight lit the way for me to escape from death."

"Did you run zig-zag or in a straight line?" I asked.

"I just ran and climbed up a tree!" GT said. "The elephant hit the tree a few times to dislodge me. I held on."

"Are you supposed to stand still when you encounter an elephant?" I asked.
"That was what my grandmother taught me," GT said. But which normal man would do that in this encounter of a raging male elephant in heat. Definitely, standing your ground opposite a wild elephant is suicidal.

"What happened next?" BMZ asked.

"The elephant left," GT said. "The others came. I found that it was extremely difficult to climb down the tree." Adrenalin, the fear-flight hormone in his blood enabled him to climb high up. After the danger was over, GT had great difficulty coming down.

The Singaporean was safe. As we don't encounter wild animals in this sterile city, I doubt that the Singaporean would have the experience or fitness to survive but I stand corrected as I had not met him. The GT met him in Singapore again and recounted the episode. He told us in laughter, "Well, his wife now permanently bans him from going to Myanmar!"

Life as a general trader of commodities is really risky personally compared to a dog and cat vet. This is not the first time that the GT nearly got gored to death by an elephant. Another encounter with a female elephant and calf in Story No. 2 made him crash 8,000 feet down a ravine. He lived to tell his tale! He must have a guardian angel. But do you believe in guardian angels? I do. It was not just pure luck to survive in such a situation.


Elephant Story No. 2 will continue later.