Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Elephant Nature Park
The reason we flew to Chiang Mai on our way to New Zealand was to visit the Elephant Nature Park. It's a sanctuary for elephants rescued from across Thailand and neighbouring Burma. Many of the elephants are injured or partially sighted and at the park they can get all the medical treatment they need plus regular feeds as most of them are unfit to forage for food as they would in the wild.
Logging was made illegal in Thailand in recent years, making domesticated elephants effectively useless to their owners. Some were sold in to the tourist trade for elephant rides, others were taken to huge cities like Bangkok to beg for money and perform tricks on the busy streets, where they are petrified and traumatised by the traffic and noise. Others were taken over the border to Burma, where logging is still legal. The border lands between Thailand and Burma are littered with land mines, so some of the elephants sustained bad foot injuries. Others have been blinded or had their backs broken by the brutal treatment they receive when they are 'broken in' to make them submissive for logging. (The owners stab them with sharp poles and sticks in the eyes, ears and all over the body until they do what they're told.) Some females sustained
broken hips after being chained up and forced to mate repeatedly.
The elephants that end up at the tourist trekking sites are in some ways the lucky ones. They get regular feeds and shelter, are beaten much less and have a better life than those in begging or logging. But the seats put on their backs with one tourist seated on each side take their toll after time. An elephant's back is surprisingly weak. They are strong across the shoulders and neck but the seats on their backs can cause permanent hip, knee and back injuries.
Elephant Nature Park rescues elephants from all these situations, paying the owners tens of thousands of dollars for their freedom. The lady who set up and manages the project is passionate not only about rescuing elephants in Thailand from harm, but also about educating tourists and locals to bring about change in attitudes. She wants the locals to see they could make as much money by running a sanctuary for elephants and inviting tourists in to observe them, as they could from begging, trekking or logging.
All the 37 elephants in the park are free to roam safely, in a stunning landscape, to bathe in the river and to live in groups, pairs, or alone, as they choose. They are all cared for by their own 'mahoot' - local men employed to feed, bathe and keep them from harm. These elephants would not survive in the wild as they can't forage for food, protect themselves from predators or travel any distance to find water and shelter.
To make money to pay the mahoots and feed the elephants, the park owner invites tourists to visit for a day, an overnight stay or a two week volunteering placement. Everyone gets hands on with the elephants, helping to feed them and getting in the river to wash them. If you volunteer for two weeks, you get duties like going out to the fields to cut corn, shovelling dung, preparing meals and helping the vets on their rounds. Everyone learns about the plight of the elephants in Thailand, and how the park is working to improve things.
The food is wonderful local Thai stuff and the accommodation in wooden huts is basic but more than adequate. We stayed overnight and had a brilliant time feeding and bathing the elephants and learning all about their individual characters and personalities. It's fascinating how they begin as strangers but form family groups and look after each other. We were given a three hour walk around the grounds, led by an experienced staff member who gave us loads of background on each elephant, the mating rituals, how they look after their babies and where they all came from. The park is stunning and despite the monsoon rain (12 hours non stop pouring down from 6pm to 6am), we waded around in the wellies they gave us, snapping away and soaking up all the information, happy as two elephants in muck!
We've put some of the photographs up: www.flickr.com/photos/jocelyns_snaps
Joss
- comments
Judy This litterally brought a tear to my eye. So sad the way those magnificent creatures have been, and still are being, treated.... and so happy that at least those who made it to the reserve are now so well cared for.