Visiting the Ellies!!!!!

Before we started our travels, Anne and I decided that, while we reaaaaaaally wants to tigers and elephants, we didn't want to contribute to any situation where animals were being mistreated. So, while I had down time toward the end of my contract, I spent a little time online researching the good, the bad and the ugly about various animal tourist attractions throughout South East Asia.

I was shocked and saddened to read about the dubious practices at the Tiger Temple, a few hours out of Bangkok, which I had visited a few years back when I traveled to Thailand with my sister. Obviously, neither of us were aware there was anything sinister going on at the time, in fact, the way it was explained to us, the monks were actually rescuing these animals! Anyway, knowing what I did now, that particular 'attraction' was off the list. Check out this website to read about the problems with the Tiger Temple~ http://www.careforthewild.com/what-we-do/campaigns/previous-campaigns/tiger-temple-the-truth/

But, luckily, I found information about an elephant sanctuary that, from all information I've come across, actually does what it claims to! Elephant Nature Park is run by a woman named Lek, which means 'small' in Thai. Lek grew up in a small mountain community with a grandfather who was a tribal 'man of the forest'. She learned from an early age to respect nature, and how to use things from nature to heal. When she was young, her family cared for an elephant, and this began her lifelong love for these animals.

In 1996, she founded Elephant Nature Park, and has been rescuing elephants from street begging and unethical trekking work ever since. She believes that elephants should be able to live their natural, wild lives and is working toward this aim as best she can at ENP. (They also provide a home for 400 dogs! They rescued these guys from Bangkok during the floods 2 years ago)

It was very clear during our visit, that the elephant's needs came first, and we were instructed on how to interact with them in ways that were respectful of those needs. Many of them were blind or dealing with ailments as the result of land mines, forced breeding, and abuse from previous owners. The staff knew each elephant's history and temperament and you could feel their genuine love for the ellies at the park.

The ellies are free to roam (as much as possible within the land owned by Lek) and form their own herds. I really loved hearing about the friendships that the elephants formed. I never realized how deep their emotional ties to each other were! I also loved learning that, when a baby is born, a 'friend' friend of the mother will offer herself as the baby's aunt. This aunt is a substitute mum, (except for providing milk) takes care of the baby and plays with it etc. Seriously, the social dynamic among elephants is amazingly intense and so touching! This was one of my favorite experiences so far!

We fed them watermelon, pumpkin, bananas and pineapple, depending on their individual needs and tastes. We fed an older lady elephant, and she loved pineapple ( the staff cut the spiky rind off and cut it in half) and would squeeze the bananas in her trunk to soften them up before putting them in her mouth. When we held out the fruit for her, she wrapped her trunk around our hands and the food. Her turn was a little rough and slimy and so strong! Her mahout ( main carer) was with her while we fed her to make sure we treated her well.

After feeding time, we walked around and our guide told us the stories of the elephants we came across. We also got to see a 5 month old ellie! ( he, his mum, and his 'aunt' were separated from the herd until he is a little older and bigger). We also learned that the young elephants who were rescued as babies, or born at the park, will be kept from the public, as the park hopes to move them to their more 'free range' property at a later date so they can live a more naturally wild life.

The park also provided us with lunch- an amazing vegetarian buffet! After lunch, we went down to the river and helped bathe the ladies^^. Many of them are senior citizens, and due to their age and/ or ailments, are a bit lazy, so they need a bit of help with this job - which we were more than happy to do! One of them decided she wanted to have a little dip, and her mahout was sure to move us away from her to ensure our safety and her comfort. After the elephants were nice and clean, the wandered up the small hill to a big mud bath and coated themselves in their natural sunscreen- mud and dirt!

We had another chance to feed some of the elephants, then It was time to say goodbye. It was a truly amazing experience and I would recommend ENP to anyone heading to Chiang Mai!