Visiting Australia's Last Circus Elephant.

I visit the beautiful elephant Saigon on a farm in North East Victoria. Australia's last circus performing elephant.



Last time I left you I was on a mission to try and locate an elephant who reportedly lives on a property near the city of Wangaratta in Victoria's North East. So on the morning of the 26th of July I set off on my next leg of the ride from Glenrowan to Wodonga. However, after riding for about 30 minutes I telephoned a friend who confirmed that there indeed is an elephant living in the area, he gave me directions to the property and informed me that the owner doesn't use the elephant for tourism anymore, but rather looks after it as if it was a family member. I was intrigued but didn't really want to disturb the owner on his property, my friend told me that I would probably be able to see the elephant from the side of the road. So with that information I set off on a long out of the way ride to visit Australia's last circus elephant.

The ride out to the property was good as I had a pretty handy tailwind helping me out. The property is way out of the way from any main cities or tourist areas which I think is a good thing. It is difficult to find and therefore beneficial for the owners who probably receive very few visitors who want to see the elephant. As I neared the property I slowed to walking pace an scanned the fields for the unmistakable shape of an elephant, and there she was, standing in the middle of a vast paddock eating dry grass about 100 metres off the road. I dismounted the bike and walked over to the fence, I then noticed there was a dirt road that accesses a few farm properties that would take me alot closer, so I rode up the road about 100 metres and was only 15 metres away from a beautiful and seemingly content Asian elephant.

The History Of Saigon, Australia's Last Circus Elephant.

Unfortunately I couldn't really find out too much about Saigon's history before 2010 when she was a national media focus. She has been owned by Perry Bros circus for over 50 years, so has known no other life yet has had many elephant friends over the years including Burma, Sheba, Ginnie and most recently Mynyak who passed away in December 2009. In early 2010 Saigon (55 Years old) was still being taken around the countryside where she was used to promote Perry Bros Circus. She did not perform but was left chained up while the circus run its course. Now, an elephant standing in a small field outside of Melbourne drew a lot of attention, the media discovered Saigon and the story quickly became an national story. A Current Affair ran a feature story on Saigon and a petition through Animals Australia drew thousands of signatures. Eventually after many negotiations Perry Bros Circus retired her properly to their 80 hectare property outside of Wangaratta.

Saigon in 2010 outside of Melbourne.

I am 100% behind not using elephants in circuses and it is a shame that Saigon has known no other life. After coming face to face with her 2 years after she was a national media focus, I can safetly say that she seemed well cared for and also quite content. The only real issue I have with the situation is that she has no other elephant friends. Many people believe that humans and elephants can and do have special relationships (believe me, I have seen this first hand) but nothing compares to being around your own kind to interact, take this quote from one of the worlds foremost elephant experts; Carol Buckley.

"I can assure you that elephants desire companionship and
freedom just as much as you and I do. For elephants, family is everything. Births are joyous celebrations; deaths are mourned. Adults share news and provide support while youngsters play together under watchful eyes. Female elephants stay at their mothers’ side their entire lives." 

Read this full article HERE

I spent about an hour with Saigon, it was really special but also quite strange to be talking to an elephant in the middle of nowhere, considering there are only 26 elephants in Australia with 25 of them in zoos, Saigon is quite a special elephant. She doesn't have any tourists to please, can wander around a large space and really do what she wants. Compared to the elephants at Melbourne zoo I can definitely say Saigon has a pretty good life, I only wish she had some more elephant friends.

When I first saw Saigon she was standing about 20m away eating this dry grass. Notice she does have some other animals for company.

After about 10 minutes she became curious and wandered over slowly to say hello to me.

As you can see she is a beautiful elephant, now at 57 years old.

Saigon will never have to perform for any tourist attractions again.

 So after my visit with Saigon, I was even more inspired to help these beautiful creatures live a life of peace and freedom. I climbed back on the bike and rode back to Wangaratta. At days end I was only 10km up the road from my starting point but had ridden over 80km. Ha!!! It was well worth it though. With only 30000-50000 Asian elephants living around the world, one third of these elephants are in a captive situation, some are well cared for but most are not. We would love to see all of these 10000+ elephants treated with the respect that they truly deserve.

Before I forget I'd like to share the video which was up at Federation Square for the launch of Ride Bikes, Not Elephants.

Now some of you might want to know how my progress along the road from Melbourne to Cairns is going. So far I've had really great weather with 30 hours and 48 minutes in the saddle so far, it's only rained for 10 minutes. In the middle of Winter I think that's a really good first 10 days. 

On day 7 I rode 62.2km from Wangaratta to Albury, this was probably the most uneventful day of the trip so far, the only road that was on the map was the Hume highway, so I was stuck with the trucks and the traffic. The road itself isn't so bad but it's just so loud with traffic all the time which makes for a not so enjoyable outdoors activity. I bumped into some good friends Dan, Neil and Gerry Van Der Ploeg when I rolled into Albury, these guys are all cycling superstars who are constantly atop podiums in MTB and Road racing events. They were perplexed by the weight of my bike, I still haven't weighed the bike but I think it's sitting around the 55Kg mark, Yikes!!!

Hello Henty Man, I'm going that way too...

Day 8 from Albury to Henty was 73km of enjoyable riding, there was a lot of slight downhill so I was able to make really good time, it was also the day where I said my final farewells to my family and a bunch of friends, I'm now truly out on this journey alone.

The new tent stood up well.

Day 9 from Henty to Wagga Wagga was another beautiful blue sky day. Super cold night in the new tent but it held up really well, I never really felt cold even though the temperature dropped to minus 3 degrees. I also managed to stay with some new friends in Jacob and Adele who are studying photography at CSU Wagga Wagga (the same degree I studied 8 years ago). It was really great to stay with them and chat about elephants, photography and university days. I absolutely loved their place, so much creativity and enthusiasm, aaaaahh the good old days...

The bike on the frosty and wet morning roads

Day 10 was the longest day in the saddle so far from Wagga Wagga to Cootamundra. A total of 95.84km with over 650m of vertical elevation gain. I began the ride by heading in the wrong direction hence the total of 95km instead of 93km. Ha! I'm sure it'll happen again... Today, however was easily the most scenic day so far, beautiful rolling hills, green fields and blue skies again. In between the really challenging hills there were some great descents. One descent lasted 15km!!! I also clocked a new fastest speed at 55km/h, I know it doesn't sound that fast, but when your on tyres as wide as your thumb with over 125kg of weight it can get a little sketchy at that speed! So far I have ridden a total of 638.6km... Only 3360km to go!

So now I'm sitting up watching the olympics, gaining more inspiration from the road cycling time trial and reminiscing about Saigon the elephant. I'm so excited to be on this journey up the coast trying to raise awareness for the Asian elephants, it seems like just the beginning of a life long journey.

Saigon with my travelling elephant Stompy!
Ride Bikes, Not Elephants

Until next post, I hope you can spread the word and maybe donate to help Chantelle and I rescue an endangered Asian elephant so it can retire and enjoy a life of peace, freedom and friendship at Elephant Nature Park. Next main stop is Dubbo, to visit the elephants and see how their lives are. I've heard some good things so fingers crossed, stay tuned...

Find us on Face Book for daily updates too at Ride Bikes, Not Elephants + Elephant In The Room

And donate here: Just Giving where we've just hit the $13,400AU mark!!!

Matt Rousu