What happened the day of the tsunami?
The earthquake [occurred] around 8:30 a.m., and around 10:30 most of the boats on the west side of one of the main islands, the waters were still acting the same, like whirlpools whirling, whirlpools all over the place. And some boats were going around the ropes. We were wrangling each other. We told each other, “Let’s cut the ropes. We have to let go of some over the anchor and we have to move.” Around that time, a number of boats got close together and all of a sudden there were dolphins jumping right in front of our boats. They were just jumping, playing, jumping, jumping. And I’d been there for two years in the Similan islands and I’ve never seen dolphins that close to the boat. Yes, you can spot them from a distance; sometimes they come in; but they’ve never exhibited that behavior.

So what came to play in my mind were folk stories in the Philippines. Like pregnant women being helped by dolphins when there’s a shark attacking. So I told one of the dive masters, “We probably have to radio some of the diving instructors, some of the captains. … Let’s order the captain to follow the dolphins.” The [captains] agreed, so we all followed the dolphins. They kept jumping and jumping and jumping and jumping. Once more we followed them. Maybe we were five, seven, 10 boats all together. … Then we realized the dolphins at that point were trying to lead us westward, farther away from the island — not the mainland, but the islands. … This is what was playing in my mind: they’re talking to us, “Why are you here? Follow us.” So we did follow them and then eventually around 10:30 we felt just a little wave; you would not feel it if you’re not close to the line, to the island, because the wave is not yet breaking. Basically it will be breaking 50 kilometers (31 miles) away, but there are the small islands that experienced some waves, around 5 meters (16 feet) high.

When we came back we realized some of the tents, some of the kitchen utensils, the restaurant tables and chairs, sleeping facilities, they were all destroyed and taken out in the water. Which meant that if we [hadn't] followed the dolphins we would have smashed into the island. It was actually as simple as that … if we insisted on staying there, there was a real, real big chance we would have been swept by the water and smashed into the rocks and into the islands. But what’s amazing, because we were far away, 50 kilometers away from the mainland where the tsunami really struck; the water came up, but you wouldn’t even have noticed it. It was amazing the dolphins followed that sign, and for me, like, I maintain the idea — I’m not a scientist, I don’t know what really happened, but for me what really came into essence in my mind and in my heart was folk stories from my own native country. When there are disasters, animals like this, they come and they help, and for me it’s like a rapport and symbiotic relationship between animals and human beings. So when I asked the captain to follow the dolphins, he immediately followed, he realized that the dolphins were probably communicating with us. Most of the diving professionals and even the divers were just looking and they were very happy with the interaction. There’s a certain kind of joy you feel every time there’s animals like this. It’s as simple as that.

Do you think the dolphins saved your lives?
This is what I believe. But once more, I’m not really in the position to qualify the case. … I really believe if we did not follow them, we would have been in a real, real bad predicament. Because when we went inside and we checked the island, we saw a mound of destruction that happened. Which incidentally, we did clean up after a few weeks. We were able to see everything; tables, chairs, kitchen utensils, bedding, tents, everything, you know, and of course a number of dead people. Jewelry, money, everything, anything you can say is connected to living.

I believe the moment the dolphins popped up, they were already giving us signals for interaction. A number of people who have been on the boats … people who have been in the diving industry for years … these are moments that they’ve always been waiting for, a chance to interact with animals like this. And around that time on the 26th of December, just before the waves came, around 10 o’clock, 10:30, when the dolphins appeared it was the perfect moment for us to interact with them, because we didn’t really know what was happening. In the history of Thailand they have not, at least in present history, they have not ever experienced a tsunami before. It was for them a very important lesson also. So I believe when we followed the dolphins, … they really on their part were telling us something. So for us, I sincerely believe this is a lesson we should all take, so once more when there will be disasters like this, these things can be documented, and we at least have … in effect, like some guidelines or signals to follow when dolphins appear like this, in terms of maybe typhoon or maybe again after another earthquake. At least we already realize they are communicating with us, something important, something which means our very own life and death.

After this happened, diving instructors and divers both were communicating a lot, some people were in tears, and a number of people, like me, believed the dolphins saved us and communicated with us. It was very emotional for us, especially when we came back to the mainland. We realized the monstrosity of the disaster that occurred. The number of people littered in the streets, all dead. We realized there was something special that really happened. It was almost a miracle we survived. … The miracle was just mere timing, being in the right place at the right time, following your instincts, understanding your surroundings, being in tune with nature, also cooperating and having a symbiotic relationship with other creatures of the sea.

On December 26th, at about 5 or 6 o’clock in the morning, the elephant trainer brought two elephants back from the forest to the camp. Those two elephants cried, felt uneasy … something was unusual. I was sleeping in the house and I heard the elephants cry. I thought, “Why would the trainer hit the elephants so early in the morning?” I wasn’t able to sleep at all, and they cried for a long time.

At 8 a.m., I came to work at the camp and I asked the trainer, “Why did you hit the elephants?” The trainer said that he did not hit the elephants; they cried on their own. Why the elephants cried for a long time, he didn’t know. Then from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., we opened for business as usual.

From 10 a.m. to 10:05 a.m., those two elephants that had cried at dawn showed some unusual behavior, were irritated and anxious to run away. At the beginning, I didn’t pay any attention. Later on, they pulled and broke the chains and ran to the mountaintop. The trainer and I ran after the elephants and called them to come back.

What happened just five minutes before the tsunami?
The two chained elephants at the back here started to get irritated and felt uneasy; they wanted to run away, they tried to pull the chain. They pulled and broke the chains and ran away. These two [ran] away first, and there was one more here who followed those two to the mountaintop. But there was another one chained over here and it tried to run away also, but it could not. And those two elephants that broke the chain went up to the hill and the trainer and I ran after those two elephants and tried to call them to come back. The trainer didn’t know that the wave was coming. No matter what we did, the elephants would not return. … After a while there was a strong wind and sound from water, broken trees. I turned around and saw that water was coming, so I went back to the camp. I wanted to observe and see what was going on and why the elephants ran away, until the water was about to reach me. … I ran and followed the trainer to the mountain.

But at about 10 o’clock I had a group of five Japanese tourists arrive to go on an elephant ride. The elephants started walking from this point along the road and then up along the mountainside. The two elephants that carried the tourists heard the noise just like the other two at the campsite. The two elephants that brought the tourists up to the mountain seemed like they were in a hurry to bring the tourists to the mountaintop, to a higher place. At that moment it was hard for the trainer to control the elephants.

The tsunami came about 10 minutes after 10 o’clock. In 10 minutes, they could not walk far. It was a short distance. When the wave came, the elephants that carried Japanese tourists heard the noise and the trainer looked back to find out what was really happening. After seeing the water, the elephants just brought the tourists up to the mountaintop.

Do you think if humans had known that the elephants breaking the chains and running up the hill was a sign of coming danger, was a warning sign, this could have saved human lives?
I think so. You first simply observe ants: when they move their living quarters, it means that is going to rain heavily in the near future. On that day, we did not observe what it really was, what the elephants tried to run away from. If we would have known that when they cried and cried for a long time, it meant that disaster was near, of course we would not remain here, we would had gone also.

What was it about the tsunami do you think they were specifically detecting: was it sound, pressure?
I think the elephants have their own sense more than anything else. Because before dawn they cried for so long, and the way they cried was different. They cried differently from when they play in the rain. But there is no rain in the summertime. They just cried.

For me, I believe that every animal has his own senses, feelings. They have more sense than humans. From what I [have] seen, I raised a lot of chickens here, but none of my chickens died. I think animals have an extraordinary sense that humans do not have.

Journey with Meg Ryan to the jungles of Thailand in search of the white elephant, a rare creature coveted by royalty — and threatened by extinction.

To Americans, a white elephant is a metaphor for an encumbrance, a worthless possession. To the people of Thailand, a white elephant is a highly unusual creature to be venerated, one that, along with the darker-hued members of its species, is facing escalating threats to its survival. To the actress Meg Ryan, an encounter with one is the culmination of a lifelong dream. NATURE gets a rare glimpse of the unique pachyderm in The White Elephants of Thailand with Meg Ryan.

The film presents elephants in their everyday contact with the people of Thailand, whose treatment of them ranges from adoration to exploitation. At the same time, we see them through the eyes of an American movie star — as the larger-than-life, awe-inspiring embodiment of childhood dreams.

Online content for The White Elephants of Thailand with Meg Ryan was originally posted February 2002.

An urban elephant roams the streets of Bangkok, Thailand. On the streets of Bangkok and other large cities in Thailand, unemployed and homeless Asian elephants are becoming a common — and controversial — sight. While some of the animals are popular tourist attractions, with mahouts selling bananas or bags of food for a few cents to passers by, many are considered nuisances that threaten pedestrians and snarl traffic.

Many mahouts, however, say they have little choice but to bring their elephants to the big city. The spread of farm machinery and limits on logging have reduced the demand for elephant laborers, forcing the mahouts to find other ways to make a living during some seasons. One of the best options, they say, is using the elephant to attract donations along a busy city street.

An urban elephant roams the streets of Bangkok, Thailand.

Thai officials frown upon the practice, and have passed laws banning elephants from roadways. But the mahouts say the laws have little effect. “We know that walking elephants on the streets is illegal, but we have to, otherwise neither us nor the elephants would have anything to eat,” one told the BANGKOK POST a few years ago. Even the periodic fine isn’t enough to scare the mahouts away.

But life in the big city can be dangerous. Some elephants are hit by cars. Others are abused by children. And recently, the POST reported that one elephant broke its leg after stumbling into a storm drain. The accident dashed the hopes of the elephant’s mahout, who had hoped to make enough money parading the animal through the streets to pay off a debt. His dream dashed, he could only wait as his elephant’s leg healed in a local animal hospital.