by Elephants and humans can communicate with each other. This may sound unbelievable but it is true, elephants can analyze and understand the human tone of voice when talking to them. These are the remarkable pictures of a young girl who ᴛᴀᴍᴇᴅ a fully grown ᴡɪʟᴅ elephant.
For 10 years as a photographer, Rehahn has traveled to many countries and captured many precious moments. In Vietnam, he captured moments of ecstasy that made his name more noticeable to the world through portraits of grandmothers and children. Good Friends is a work he took in Vietnam in 2014. The image of a small M’nong girl praying in front of an old elephant has moved the world.
The character in the photo is Kim Luan, a 6-year-old M’nong girl, has now become inseparable from her pet elephant and the two are best friends. And Kim has grown a strong bond with the huge animal – despite the fact a single move could be ꜰᴀᴛᴀʟ. The pair are at total ease with each other and the gentle jumbo happily lets her play around it. French photographer Rehahn, 35, captured the heart-warming scene in Buon M’Lieng earlier this month.
He said: “Elephants are considered members of the community – everything related to them must follow M’Nong traditions. As a foreigner I was very surprised to see this bond but for the M’Nong minority group it’s common to have an elephant in the garden – just like we might have a cat. I felt the respect between both. The girl was more scared of me than the elephant.”
The photographer has lived in Vietnam for seven years, capturing some 45,000 photos of the country. But this is the first time he has witnessed such interaction between M’Nong and their elephants. He added: “It’s not ᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴏᴜs for her – the elephants are peaceful until you try to do wrong with them. But M’Nong live in nature with elephants and know how to keep them quiet. It’s unique, plus the M’Nong don’t really wear traditional costume anymore which makes the photos more special.”
It is common in the M’Nong society to tame ᴡɪʟᴅ elephants before introducing them to the community and keeping them as domestic pets. The elephants are then used to work with the villagers in the fields, transporting goods and helping them build houses. M’Nong people live with and have a close relationship with elephants. They are famous for their skills in controlling and taming elephants, a ᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴏᴜs and difficult job. Elephant hunters not only need special skills to overcome the challenge of catching them, but also need to overcome the challenges of the jungle.
