Photos: Nine-year-old mahout in Don Village
05:45 - 15/03/2015
VietNamNet Bridge – Nine-year-old Y Quyet Rya can control an elephant weighing 4 tons, taking him to the forest to seek food and serve tourists in Don Village in Dak Lak province in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.

VietNamNet Bridge – Nine-year-old Y Quyet Rya can control an elephant weighing 4 tons, taking him to the forest to seek food and serve tourists in Don Village in Dak Lak province in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.

Nine-year-old mahout in Don Village

The boy learned how to control the elephant from his uncle Y The Knul, 40, when he was 7 years old.

Y The Knul is a famous mahout in Don Village.

Among his students, Y Quyet Rya is the best.

The boy bathes his elephant named Gen in a lake in the Yok Don National Park.

According to senior mahouts, it is difficult to find eligible kids to be trained as mahouts.

Y The said: "In our family, there are dozens of children from 7 to 18 years old – the age that is appropriate for being training as a mahout, but only Y Quyet meets the criteria. He loves elephants very much."

Y Quyet can manage elephants to perform in a circus near the lake.

After two years, Quyet now controls his elephant skillfully.