Asian Elephants: At Night
Listen to the Asian elephant’s trumpet sounds from the distant valley. As the recording progresses, the elephant comes nearby and passes under the tree where the microphones are placed, allowing you to hear it breathe, rumble, break branches, and move around up close. It’s fascinating to hear all the different and powerful sounds this magnificent animal makes. The recording starts quite lively with the trumpet sounds, but to fully experience all the other unique sounds, you need to be patient and listen as the elephants take their time.
About the recording:
On my field trip visit to Khao Yai National Park, I never expected to experience such a special and rare moment. The elephant trumpet calls echo throughout the forested valley. It was a chilly evening, and we were just setting up our camp at a park campsite among other, mostly Thai, people when I suddenly heard the echoing calls from the distance. I quickly dropped everything, assembled my recording setup, and rushed away from the crowd to try to capture a clean recording without any background noise from the people. After dark, it was not allowed to leave the campsite for safety reasons, but being too excited and determined to catch the sound, I went outside on the road, into the dark forest a bit away from the campsite. Just when I started to record some of the elephant echoes, the forest ranger drove by and told me to go back. I have missed the recording of the most amazing elephant sounds I have ever heard, but well, I did hear them with my ears and live the magical moment.
The next day, I was prepared, yet uncertain if there would be any activity the second time. I have been exploring around the park, analyzing the best possible area and position to cover the whole valley, being away from water and from people. I have set up the microphones on a tree inside the forest, which is on the edge of a small savanna-like habitat where the elephants typically wander. After climbing the tree and setting up the whole rig, I left it there overnight. Again, I heard trumpet sounds echo over the valley. I was happy to hear them again, knowing it was getting recorded, although on the second night, it was much less, and they were farther away. To my surprise, I ended up capturing the elephant(s) coming directly under the microphones (tree) and staying around for the night.
About the area:
Khao Yai National Park, Thailand’s first national park, is a haven of biodiversity nestled in the Sankamphaeng Mountain Range. This protected ecosystem supports a remarkable range of wildlife, including a significant population of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). The park’s diverse landscapes, from dense evergreen forests to open grasslands, create varied microhabitats that support these magnificent mammals. As one of the region’s remaining intact wilderness areas, Khao Yai serves as a crucial ecological refuge, maintaining natural processes and supporting a variety of plant and animal interactions characteristic of Southeast Asian forest ecosystems.