There was something different about the 70th Independence Day celebration around Tessso Nilo National Park on August 17, 2015. In Lubuk Kembang Bunga village, Ukui sub-district, Pelalawan Riau, five elephants (four adult females and one calf) were present in the midst of hundreds of ceremony participants at SDN 003 Lubuk Kembang Bunga. The ceremony commander entered the ceremony field by riding one elephant named Ria, a member of the Flying Squad Team, to the center of the field to mark the start of the ceremony. The master of ceremonies, led by Lubuk Kembang Bunga Village Head Chairus Slamet, was then escorted to the ceremony podium on an elephant.

The ceremony lasted from 8 to 9am. The presence of five Flying Squad elephants from the WWF-BBKSDA Riau and RAPP Flying Squad teams who participated neatly in the line of ceremony participants added to the excitement of the event. During the flag salute, the elephants also paid their respects.

Lubuk Kembang Bunga is a village directly adjacent to Tesso Nilo National Park, which is the habitat of Sumatran elephants. The elephants' direct involvement in the Indonesian independence ceremony is part of the socialization to the community to care for elephants and their habitat.

The idea of including elephants in this ceremony originated from the desire of the Lubuk Kembang Bunga Village community for Flying Squad elephants to participate in enlivening the Indonesian Independence Day in this village as an effort to get to know elephants more closely to the community. This idea then developed by including Flying Squad elephants in a series of ceremonies. Ria, one of the WWF-BBKSDA Riau Flying Squad members, was chosen to be in charge of delivering the ceremony commander and master of ceremonies in the series of ceremonies. Ria's son Tino, who also had his second birthday this month, also accompanied his mother on duty.

The ceremony, which was attended by elements of the Lubuk Kembang Bunga Village community; village government, traditional leaders, community leaders, students from kindergarten to junior high school, went smoothly. The presence of elephants in the midst of the community is a medium to increase public awareness of the importance of protecting endangered Sumatran elephants. On this occasion, Village Head Chairus Slamet expressed his gratitude for the participation of the Flying Squad team and hoped that this moment could increase public awareness of Sumatran elephants. At the end of the August 17 celebration in Lubuk Kembang Bunga Village, several community members took advantage of this moment to interact directly with the Flying Squad elephants.