Elephant Nature Park

Also known as Awesome Town for Elephants.

That last post was a bit of a bum out. Honestly, I had to tell you all of that. Otherwise you wouldn’t be able to fathom just how amazing the Elephant Nature Park is… or worse, you might have gone off and rode an elephant!

The Elephant Nature Park all began with a Thai woman, Sangduen “Lek” Chailert. Growing up with a respect for elephants, Lek was appalled at how the animals were being treated when she began working in the elephant tourism industry. She began efforts to save as many elephants as she could. In 1995 the Elephant Nature Park, a sanctuary for abused elephants, was founded.

Early in the morning a van picked us up and we started our approximately 1 hour journey to the park. I really appreciated that the Nature Park did their best to maximize our time. The tour guide immediately began introducing us to their project and then played a short tv episode featuring Thai elephants and the park in particular.

Arriving at the park we joined up with other groups of visitors. Some visitors come for the day, like us, other stay overnight, and a lucky few are able to spend weeks in the park as volunteers and interns. We learned the rules of the park and headed out to meet the elephants.

Unlike elephants kept under different circumstances, the elephants at the park are not chained down during the day. They are free to wander the grounds and form family units of their choosing. The elephants form friendships and generally live a life of leisure. Because the park is not fenced, the elephants are chained during the night. This keeps the elephants off the private property in the area. You can imagine the kind of damage an elephant could do if it wandered into your garden. The locals have not reacted well when this has happened in the past so keeping the elephants tied down is the best option.

After mingling with the elephants a bit we got the chance to feed them lunch. Each elephant has a unique diet and you must be careful to not mix their food. This can be tricky when mischievous elephants use their trunks to snatch their friend’s food out of the basket or even out of your hand!

All of the approximately 3o elephants in the park have been rescued from horrible situations. Situations that make you want to cry. I’ll briefly tell you about Jokia:

After the logging ban in 1989/1990, Jokia was unemployed. The family that owned her sold her to an illegal logging operation where she worked for the next few years. Evenutally, Jokia became pregnant. While working (no maternity leave for elephants!) Jokia gave birth to her baby. In a scene I don’t even want to imagine, the baby fell out and rolled down the hill behind her. She was not allowed to stop and tend to her baby. When Jokia was finally able to return to her baby, she discovered it was dead. Heartbroken and furious, Jokia refused to work. In order to compel her to work again, her mahout used a slingshot to blind her in one eye. Jokia went back to work for a few more weeks although she became very angry and dangerous to be around. Her mahout figured that she’d become more submissive if he blinded her completely. This time he used a bow and arrow. Not surprisingly, this only worsened the situation. Jokia became even more dangerous and refused to listen to commands. Thankfully, Lek found Jokia and persuaded her owner to sell her to the park. Now Jokia lives a peaceful life. She even has a bodyguard in one of the other elephants who accompanies her around the park. Each elephant has a story. Read more about them here.

After the elephants eat they are keen for a little wash in the river. The visitors to the park are encouraged to get in the water and give the elephants a good splash. It was a lot of fun to scrub and splash elephants. I can’t say it’s something I ever predicted I would do!

We also had the chance to view the baby elephants. It’s not safe for visitors to get too close to the babies, so we peeked at them from a viewing platform. I have to say… baby elephants are cute… and also really weird looking. Right?

After watching the documentary that I mentioned in the previous post, we had another chance to feed and splash the elephants.

Our tour guide was a bit sneaky and convinced us to touch an elephant tongue (which was against the rules!).

We even got some kisses during the day.

I left the park that day feeling really positive. I felt like I met an organization that really understands the problem they are trying to solve… and doing a fantastic job. They invite people in to witness elephants in a very natural habitat. The elephants are not forced to perform tricks (except the kisses!) or carry visitors on their backs. It doesn’t take much convincing to realize the genuine awesomeness of these creatures. Personally, I’ve happily added the Elephant Nature Park to the list of organizations I support. No pressure, but if you ever find yourself looking for a good cause… you can easily help the park here.

I also appreciated the organization’s attitude towards tourists and traditional elephant tourism. Our guide told one visitor contemplating an elephant trek, “Sure, go ahead. Take a look at their elephants and decide for yourself if they are being treated properly. Decide if they are well fed. Compare our elephants to their elephants and see what you think.” The park could tell visitors to never under any condition engage in the elephant tourism industry (I mean, it is their competition), but they don’t. They are so confident that what they are doing is right that they let the visitor determine his or her own opinion. I really respect that.

Elephant day was my favorite day of our trip.

xo, jill