day, go to aljazeera.com. the dow oh so close to 16,000. myanmar, lives a creature known for centuries as the lifeblood of the country's timber business. >> if you use elephants, you don't need wider roads, or a car, or a heavy duty machine. >> with their immense strength, these elephants can haul logs with minimal damage to the

forest. they have survived wars, and decades of dictatorship. but now, the future of myanmar's timber elephants, and their handlers, is at risk. >> in order to make money, we have to fire some employees. since logging extraction is reduced, they will be fired. >> with the myanmar government drastically reducing timber extraction by 2014, livelihoods are on the line. >> yes, we are suffering because we have been working in this industry for a long time. >> after decades of lost opportunities, today myanmar is racing to catch up. some of the changes sweeping through the country are wrenching, - and will reach far corners. >> i'm nirmal ghosh, on this edition of 101 east, we gain rare access to remote elephant logging camps and ask, "is this

is the end of myanmar's timber elephants?" >> for centuries, myanmar's tropical hardwood has been in demand across the world. in the colonial era, it was used to build the british naval fleet. today burmese teak furniture fetches thousands of dollars in the open market. >> the durability and density and also the colour and then the grain. and also the size of the tree.

right now we are cutting the right size, not small trees. this is also important. >> at this workshop in the city of yangon, valuable old teak from demolished buildings is recycled into high end furniture. owner hla thaung started the business in 1999 and has seen a boom in sales. he says customers sometimes wait up to a year because of the huge volume of orders for customized pieces. the wood used is almost 100 years old. >> definitely at that time they used elephants for extracting. >> while the rest of southeast asia has stopped elephant timber logging. a remarkable 60% of myanmar's timber is extracted by elephants. the country is one of the biggest exporters of teak with three quarters of the global market. but this is about to change. i have come to myanmar at the cusp of a major transformation in its timber industry.

the country will have a complete ban on raw timber exports by april 2014, allowing only exports of finished products. log extraction will also be reduced by almost half. this will help myanmar curb deforestation, encourage the domestic furniture industry, and earn carbon credits on the international market. but the new policy could signal the end of an era for myanmar's timber elephants and their handlers. >> the handlers might be worried. even the government servants in office are worried. when logging extraction is reduced, whatever is not economical, will be eliminated. >> even with selective logging, forest cover has drastically shrunk in myanmar, to below 30 percent. much of this is due to illegal logging. in the last two years,

authorities have seized almost 70,000 tons of illegal logs. >> we take immediate action against them by using the police, the forestry department, investigators, and also by us. but it is still happening. we hope that if we can protect the forest from illegal logging and limit log extraction, we can keep our jobs longer. >> tun tun oo is in-charge of logging in western myanmar's ayeyarwaddy division. he says with reduced logging, private elephant owners contracted by the government will be the first on the chopping block. >> i think there are around 70-80 small and big companies that have been working for a long time. when timber production is reduced, even though we are in a better position, we will suffer some side effects. the private elephant owners will also be affected. i don't know how they plan to manage it. but they will be affected. there will be a stage when they may think it's not economically

viable, because they can no longer export. >> so which are the elephants you inherited from your father? >> this, this, and this. >> i meet saw moo, a second generation elephant owner. he inherited three elephants from his parents. the stable has now grown to 20, including six calves. but with higher operation costs, his profits have fallen, and now he is concerned the reduced logging could ruin him. >> i am not prepared for this. it puts me in a tight spot. >> yes, we are suffering because we have been working in this industry for a long time. we should be supported and given help.

the elephants have made a big mark in this country's history. they make a large amount of money for the country. it's quite inappropriate to abandon the private owners at this time. >> saw moo fears the family business is about to end, in his hands. >> we are in a situation where we have to sell our elephants. but if we don't get any help, we have no choice. we will just release them into the jungle. i'm worried for them because it might be dangerous to release them. i also don't want to do that because i'm strongly attached to them.

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>> and join the conversation online @ajamstream. >> myanmar is home to close to 5,000 elephants in captivity. while some are handled by private owners like saw moo, more than half are in the hands of a single government logging agency, the myanma timber enterprise. much of the story of the timber elephants begins here in its yangon office. >> hi doctors. >> i meet two veterinarians, dr. myo than and dr. myo nay zar, experts on caring for these giant, intelligent animals. >> this elephant diary records the life cycle of the elephant, from birth to death. >> the vets' records are meticulous. the diaries date back to the

1930s. this is possibly the most extensive elephant archive in the world. >> nowadays, we can record by taking photographs. but in the past there were no cameras. we recorded based on the elephant's height, posture, weight, structure, ears, eyes, and so on. this diary is about an elephant who is 66 years old. the book ends when the elephant dies. >> how often do your vets go out and inspect the elephants? >> for me, i usually travel to each area once every other month. >> the next morning i join dr myo nay zar for the long journey to a remote forest camp to inspect the elephants. it will be a rare opportunity to see these mighty mammals at work. it's a sight few outsiders have seen. we have to bring in our own supplies, food, and water.

it's a day's drive, heading north from yangon to thayet san, the base camp where the elephant handlers live. from there we will need to travel on foot, with elephants carrying our supplies for another 50 kilometers into the mountains. dr myo nay zar and his colleagues are used to traveling long distances, day and night, and are happiest out in the field. >> we love to treat and take care of the elephants. to live with and help the elephant handlers and their families gives us joy and happiness. >> mingalabar!

>> this is thayet san, home to 52 of the famed timber elephants and their handlers - or oozies as they are called in burmese. among them is zaw win, a 3rd generation oozie, who leads a team of four handlers and their elephants. as a young boy, zaw win dreamt of becoming an oozie. it was his father who first put him on an elephant. >> my father loved to talk about elephants, and he enjoyed his job. >> zaw win takes me to the extraction site, deep in the forest, to see his elephants at work. it will be an arduous trek. with their sure-footed strength, the elephants steadily navigate the rugged terrain.

this journey is very much as it was in the colonial era, when around 10,000 elephants were involved in logging, and transporting supplies. zaw win's grandfather may well have ridden this very same route. when japan invaded burma in world war ii, elephants were taken off timber duties and turned to rescue missions. in one instance, 110 elephants helped evacuate 67 british women and children from central myanmar to north east india. >> in another remarkable feat, elephants were sent from neighboring assam in india to rescue refugees fleeing the japanese invasion. >> when these mountain rivers rise, elephants are the only way across. it is easy to see how valuable these animals are, in this challenging environment. it has taken us two days to reach this timber camp in the

arakan yoma, the arakan mountains to get to this spot, a remote logging camp where six elephants and six oozies live and work here through the monsoon months. out here the oozies live simply, relying on nature. they shower in the open using rainwater, and food is brought in around once a month. temporary huts are built from the surroundings, using rattan, cane and bamboo. life out here can be harsh. malaria is a constant concern. zaw win lost his father when he developed a fever deep in the forest. he was too far from hospitals to receive any treatment.

>> the oozies have to work in the rain, in the wind and in the sun. we have to station the elephants in the deep jungle. we need to live far away from our families and in a harsh environment. sometimes we face a shortage of food. whatever the situation, we need to be able to deal with it. it is a tough life. it's a tough life built on a routine that has existed for centuries. early each morning, the oozies must look for their elephants, who roam free in the forest overnight, foraging for food, but rarely wandering very far. the next ritual is a pleasant one - the daily bath.

this is important for a captive elephant's skin hygiene, and also reinforces the bond between oozie and elephant. >> the relationship is like parents and children. elephants are like parents and we have to respect them as they provide us with everything. therefore, the oozie needs to take care of them so they are in good health. >> 36 year old tusker swe kyaw htay is the star here and often leads the team. caught from the wild, harsh training was used to break his spirit. but the handlers tell us his nature is placid and it only took a month to teach him the unique commands.

but many elephants require force before they comply. >> the oozie needs to know the nature of his elephants. some of them are nice while others are wild. but the oozie will be gentle with nice elephants and violent with wild ones. but violence is not always needed. sometimes, the oozie needs to give the elephant a treat before he uses it. if the oozie keeps treating them harshly, the work will not be done.

>> which tree is it? >> that tree. >> that one? >> the local name is pingadu. >> pingadu? >> in the market they call it myanmar ironwood. myanmar ironwood. >> ya. saw yi mon lin is the ranger officer in-charge of this extraction site. he shows me a tree meant for felling, which has been marked by the forest department.

>> how does the forest department decide which tree to cut? according to the myanmar selection system, the forest department measures the tree's girth at height of a man's chest. they mark the timber that has grown to a size ready to be cut. >> the team quickly gets to work. the wood is stamped to show it has been legally cut. then it's show time for the elephants. on the forest floor, oozie and elephant work as one unit, combining intelligence, training, precision, and enormous strength.

oozies control their elephants with vocal commands and also using their knees, feet and occasionally, a stick. encouraging the three ton giants to yield and work. >> with their immense strength and precision, elephants like these can lift up to one ton of timber and carry it for up to a kilometer. elephants are ideal for terrain like this where using heavy machinery would destroy far more of the forest.

by noon, their work is done. the logs are stacked downhill. later they will be dragged further, to the road, where trucks can load them in the dry season. with the afternoon free, dr myo nay zar now has an opportunity to check on the elephants' health. >> what do you look for when you inspect an elephant? >> i check their movements and whether they have wounds or injuries on their bodies. firstly, i check the tongue. the tongue should be in pink color but if it becomes lighter, it is likely to have anemia. these elephants are well looked after. but with the reduction in logging, many privately owned elephants face a bleak future. >> if they are old elephants, they will probably be sold. but it's illegal to sell them.

they might be sold in the black market, we don't know about that. ivory, skins or tusks can't be sold here. that's why they might be taken over the border. some will be released into the jungle like cows and oxen. >> elephants from myanmar, are already being smuggled into neighbouring thailand for the tourist trade. activist soraida salwala, has seen the plight of out of work elephants. she says they are often vulnerable to trafficking, exploitation and abuse. >> i don't like to see elephants in tourism actually, i would like to see the government at least have sanctuaries for them to stay. and people can just go there and visit them, so they play in the water, they don't have to entertain us and you know with tricks and painting something, no. >> i meet environmentalist u ohn, at the royal white elephant park in yangon. u ohn is a retired senior forester, who now chairs a major wildlife ngo. he says a solution must

be found for out of work timber elephants. he believes releasing captive elephants back into the wild may worsen human-elephant conflict. across asia, conflict between humans and elephants is on the rise. in this attack in india, a wild elephant emerged from the jungle, and went on a rampage in a nearby town. disoriented, it attacked a

buffalo, and later fatally wounded a man. in myanmar too, elephants are running out of space with commercial plantations taking over the forest. >> two months ago, nine year old pannita, came home to discover his family's hut had been destroyed, by wild elephants looking for food. luckily his family was not home at the time. with no house, his mother sent him off to train as a novice monk. on another occasion, a man was killed in the village by an angry elephant. yet, pannita bears no grudge.

>> elephants don't do anything. it's not their fault but the people's. because people go and live in the jungle. the elephants have to live in plantations and fields to survive. and are surrounded by houses. so they have nothing to eat. they eat various types of food but they're not satisfied. so they eat rice in the paddy fields. >> back at thayet san village, zaw win is on a break from work and spending time with his family. his 12-year-old son, thant zin maung, wants to follow him and become an oozie. but, although zaw win is fiercely proud of his heritage he has firm ideas on his son's future. >> nowadays the worksites are further and further away. i am worried he won't be able to

survive like us. he doesn't look like he can do this. that's why i don't want him to be an oozie. >> most oozies barely complete primary education, and only earn around 100 dollars a month. zaw win wants more for his son.

>> at dusk, zaw win offers incense to the two spirits of the forest. one protects the forest. the other protects the elephants. but relying just on the spirits may not be enough. as myanmar opens its doors to the world and reforms its logging industry, many are wondering, if the ancient tradition of man working with elephants, has a future. what is certain is that change is on the horizon for the world's last timber elephants.

this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm tony harris with a look at today's top stories. a north carolina central university is on lockdown right now, a possible active shooter is on campus. students have been asked to stay indoors and away from windows. democrats voted to strike down the long-standing filibuster rules that had been allowing republicans to block the nomination process. president obama al-qaeda --