African Elephant Domestication Centre at Garamba National Park near Gangala Na Bodio--1972

Garamba National Park is situated in the north-eastern corner of the Democratic Republic of Congo, on the border with Sudan. It is the only park in Africa where a tourist can go on safari on the back of an elephant. The park was established by Belgian royal decree in 1938 as one of the fi rst national parks in Africa and was closely tied to the Elephant Domestication Centre, established in the early 1920s at Gangala na Bodio. King Leopold II of Belgium started the African Elephant Domestication Program in 1906, with the hopes that they could be used to haul cargo between the Nile, to the east of the park, and the Congo river to the west of the area. In the forties the camp was managed by belgian Major J. Haezeart, but most most training was done by Zande tribesmen. At one time, over 80 elephants were being used for work in the area, maintaining roads and plowing fields. Today(1972 only 4 remain. The park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.