From elephant cemetery to tourist attraction
There is something mysteriously exciting about visiting an elephant burial ground. But doing so could cause an adverse environmental impact and ZALINA MOHD SOM wonders if it’s a good idea to trespass Glide down the pristine Sungai Lebir on perahu pancong (or long boat) Fermented fish (ikan pekasam) cottage industry at Kampung Renok Baru The suspension bridge across Sungai Lebir at Taman Negara Kuala Koh GASPING for breath and drenched in sweat and guilt, I looked around for a good excuse to be trespassing. After all, a burial ground is sacred, even if it’s one meant for the gentle giants — elephants. What I found though, were two almost-complete sets of elephant skeletons, nicely arranged on the forest floor in a fenced up area measuring about three square metres. All around was secondary forest and dense undergrowth near Kampung Star. The only visible path was the trail leading to the burial ground from the mouth of the walk-through Gua Pintu. The skeletons were of elephants aged betw...