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FORESTERS'
TIPS, TECHNIQUES,
AND
TRICKS OF THE TRADE | | |
 HOLY ELEPHANTS
Do respect the religious customs of your host country. Find out what they are, and don’t be surprised
if they are unusual.
For example, in Hindu countries, many animals are considered holy (e.g. shrews, snakes and cows) so
don’t expect them
to be removed if they are eating your seeds, menacing your workers, or trampling your seedlings. And
don’t take the law
into your own hands in the hope that no one will notice. If a sacred elephant hitching post is just
where you want to put a
project carpark, leave it to the locals to organise. Don’t do what one forester did in Nepal (not a
TCO) when presented
with this situation. He got so frustrated at not getting the post removed, he took the chainsaw
to it at night. Needless to
say, he was soon discovered and removed on the next flight.
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