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Elephant Sumatra

Garry Lotulung: Saving the Sumatran elephant

The Indonesian photojournalist tells the story behind an image from his long-term series on a critically endangered species

'Wild elephants gather at night around plantations in search of food near the village of Tegalyoso, Way Kambas National Park, Lampung province, southern Sumatra, Indonesia, 2021’ by Garry Lotulung


Since he began documenting the plight of the Sumatran elephant in 2017, Garry Lotulung has made three challenging trips across difficult terrain to witness the struggle to protect it.

The Indonesian photojournalist, whose story on the impact of nickel mining is published in the July-September issue of the RPS Journal, is well used to immersing himself in a series for years on end. This one, though, has proved particularly difficult, with journeys by car, boat and foot to find the animals listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as critically endangered.

Elephant populations are being decimated as their natural habitat of lowland forests on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, succumb to agricultural development. As the elephants struggle to find food, they come into conflict with human beings and are removed from the wild or killed, besides being the target of illegal poachers for their ivory.

Here, Lotulung describes joining the Elephant Response Unit (ERU) in Way Kambas National Park, Sumatra, in sometimes arduous conditions. His hope? That his photographs ignite a compassionate response from readers – and governments.

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'Members of the Elephant Response Unit (ERU) during a routine patrol in the Way Kambas National Park, Lampung province, southern Sumatra, Indonesia, 2021’ by Garry Lotulung

Describe yourself as a photographer.

I am a freelance photojournalist based in Jakarta and specialising in stories about the human condition, social change and environmental crises.

Working extensively in Southeast Asia, I have photographed pivotal events including my long-term project with the rangers and mahouts to protect the lives of critically endangered Sumatran elephants. In 2018, I documented the Surabaya bombings, a series of terrorist attacks that initially occurred on 13 May in three churches in Surabaya, the second-largest city in Indonesia.

In the period 2020–2021, I worked for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and covered Indonesia’s second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. I joined the international Anadolu Agency in 2022.

What inspired your series Protecting the Endangered Sumatran Elephant and how challenging was it to photograph?

My photo essay about Sumatran elephants is a long-term project that documents their lives around a national park. Not all photographers in Indonesia document the lives of the rangers and mahouts who guard and protect the herd of elephants in this conservation area.

Elephant habitat is decreasing year to year. The IUCN now lists the species as critically endangered. I believe my photo essays can provide information to the wider community, especially in Indonesia, [on how] our elephant habitat is increasingly threatened. I hope my stories will convey information that ignites compassion and kindness, especially [from] the local government.

This project is challenging, with a long distance to reach Way Kambas National Park in Sumatra. The ERU has around four different monitoring posts, and the journey is not easy. We have to walk then take a small boat to reach the elephant monitoring locations.

What was most impressive and draining was when I took part in patrol hotspots and herd wild elephant populations away from conflict. The patrol was divided into two shifts – morning and evening. Each patrol takes about four to six hours, and we ride elephants and sometimes walk too. My back felt painful when riding the elephant, and I felt itchy and sore because the skin of elephants is thick and rough.

The ERU struggles to maintain the population and survival of Sumatran elephants. I started the story of the Sumatran elephant in 2017 and have made three trips. I hope that there will be another opportunity to continue this very important story.

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‘A mahout bathes his elephant in the river at Way Kambas National Park, Lampung province, southern Sumatra, Indonesia, 2017’ by Garry Lotulung

Tell us about the image of the elephant at the top of this page, which also graces the homepage of your website. 

During the night I joined the ERU, made up of forest rangers and mahouts, to patrol hotspots and herd wild elephant populations away from conflict. While waiting for the movement of wild elephants around the community’s plantation fields, a mahout saw one of the herds hidden behind branches. Usually, the wild elephants will gather at night around plantations in search of food and damage the area in the village of Tegalyoso, on the border at Way Kambas National Park on Sumatra.

You were born in North Sulawesi and are based in Jakarta. How important is it to tell stories that are close to home?

As photographers, we are required to be sensitive and always follow the latest issues. Therefore, we should see and feel the closeness of our community, what problems are happening around our home or environment, and, in my opinion, it will be easier to start work and approach that subject.

Photojournalist Garry Lotulung investigates the impact of nickel mining in the July-September 2024 issue of the RPS Journal.

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