By. Antika Fardilla. Translated by. Siti Fatimah Ayuningdyah

Tukmaida Rambe was born in Simaninggir, North Sumatra, on 10 August 1995. This young lady is a mahout in the Elephant Flying Squad of WWF-Indonesia. Tukma joined this unusual world of conservation in 2015. She received news about an employment opportunity to work as part of WWF-Indonesia’s Flying Squad from her brother in law who lived in Lubuk Kembang Bunga Village, Pelalawan District.

At first, she had no expectation whatsoever about the job. Funnily enough, her brother in law tried to convince her about the job by telling her that the tasks are as easy as caring for a goat. She would only need to feed and bathe the elephants. Her parents initially forbade her to get the job, as they were concerned about her safety.
 
“You are a woman, what if an elephant stepped on you?” her parents told her.
 
Yet, slowly Tukma was able to sway her parents and convince them that all jobs have risks, and that she was sure this job will bring her invaluable experience. Eventually, her parents gave in and allowed their daughter to leave home and work in Lubuk Kembang Bunga, a village located adjacent to the Tesso Nilo National Park. On the third day of Eid Mubarrak last year, Tukma prepared everything that might be needed for her application, she was even more determined to get the job at that point. She was very curious as she never had the chance to see an elephant up close her whole life, only via television and pictures.  
 
A week later, Tukma got a call from WWF-Indonesia Central Sumatra Program to come for an interview. She was initially pessimistic that she would get in after looking at two other candidates who were interviewed before her. After waiting with a heart full of hopes, Tukma was finally informed that she was through to the next round and was invited to join a training program for three months.
 
The training period was quite an unforgettable phase for Tukma, there were many funny experiences for her as that was her first time as a mahout in the field. One of the things she found difficult was walking while wearing boots, which led her to wanting to take off her shoes while working.
 
Tukma then started to get introduced to the elephants of the Flying Squad, with fears evident on her face. Tukma went to hide behind a senior mahout while throwing glances at the elephants. There are six trained elephants in the squad, which is a collaborative effort between WWF, Tesso Nilo National Park Board, and Natural Resource Conservation Board as a way to mitigate human-elephant conflicts.
 
Learning to ride an elephant was something Tukma really enjoyed. Even though it was difficult, she tried really hard to balance herself on top of an elephant. Within a month, Tukma was able to ride an elephant on her own. She was given the responsibility to care for Tesso, one of the elephant cubs in the Flying Squad. Tesso is currently nine years old. Her next training is to train elephants by giving orders, such as to play balls, etc. Sometimes, Tukma even appears to share jokes with the elephant in her care, while also petting and hugging Tesso.
 
After smoothly enduring three months of training, Tukma was given the full responsibility of caring for Tesso. Every morning, Tukma gets Tesso from where the cub is parked to give him a bath at the river, and to find Tesso her natural feed. In the afternoon, Tukma will once again give Tesso a bath.
 
Tukma and Tesso join the patrol team along with the core Flying Squad Team (four trained adult elephants and eight mahouts) twice a week. This team monitors the signs of feral elephant existence around the area so they can lead the elephants to the Tesso Nilo National Park and minimize human-elephant conflicts.
 
Tukma is very happy with her job and she would love to introduce her family to the elephants or even get them to ride on these elephants. She wants to show her family, especially her mother, that she can do her job well.  
 
Tukma hopes that elephants will always be protected as they are God’s creatures, same as humans. She dreams of a time when elephants are no longer hunted or killed, and their habitats are well preserved so they can live in peace.
 
Becoming a female mahout is such a special experience, as not everybody can do it. Courage and willpower are needed to be able to conquer this large mammal. Tukma is an exceptional and inspiring young lady, as no matter how hard the job gets, she always finds joy in what she does.