点评:The Dubare Elephant Camp is part of the Dubare Reserve Forest, and is located beside the Kaveri River. Various types of elephants that cannot be (at least for a while) returned to the wild are kept here. They have a daily routine that involves them being taken down to the river to be bathed, then, after being fed, taken to the nearby forest and allowed to forage before being brought back to the camp in the afternoon. These twice-a-day bathing/feeding routines are the only times tourists are allowed into the camp.
We paid the fee (Rs 180 per person above 3 years of age) at the ticketing counter on the main road. This counter opens at 9 am and we were here just a little after 9, but there was already a long queue here. The queue moves quickly, though, with batches of 15-20 people being herded into motor boats for the short ride across theover to the camp.
At the camp, you can watch the elephants being bathed and fed, but that's about it. There's little information that can increase your knowledge about elephants, for example.
I've been to other elephant camps, for example Kodanadu in Kerala and the Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka; compared to those, where you see the elephants more closely and get to learn about them too, Dubare comes across as rather dull. I couldn't help but feel sorry for the elephants, each with a foot in chains, corralled away in heavy wooden kraals. The crowds of selfie-seeking tourists don't seem to mind, anyway.
翻译:杜巴尔大象营是杜巴尔森林保护区的一部分,位于卡韦里河畔。这里饲养着各种无法(至少在一段时间内)放归野外的大象。它们每天都会被带到河边洗澡,喂食后,被带到附近的森林里觅食,下午再被带回营地。只有每天两次的洗澡/喂食时间,游客才被允许进入营地。
我们在主干道上的售票处支付了费用(3岁以上每人180卢比)。售票处早上9点开放,我们刚过9点就到了,但这里已经排起了长队。不过队伍移动得很快,15到20人一组被赶上摩托艇,乘着短途的渡河船到达营地。
在营地,你可以观看大象洗澡和喂食,但仅此而已。比如,几乎没有什么信息能增加你对大象的了解。
我去过其他大象营,比如喀拉拉邦的科达纳杜和斯里兰卡的大象孤儿院;相比那些能更近距离地观察大象并了解它们的地方,杜巴尔显得有些乏味。我不禁为那些大象感到惋惜,它们每只脚都戴着铁链,被关在沉重的木栏里。不过,成群结队的自拍游客似乎并不介意。