We've been blessed to see and do some amazing things these past five months, but our day at the Elephant Nature Park (ENP) left an elephant-sized footprint on our hearts.
We had heard that elephant treks where you ride the elephant through the jungle are a big thing in Thailand, but as we started to research different companies on tripadvisor.com, there were mixed reviews. Some folks had great things to say, but others highlighted the questionable condition and treatment of the elephants. A few months ago, we watched the documentary Blackfish about orca whales at amusement parks and it helped us reconsider how we support animals that are no longer in the wild. So, we started to look for an elephant encounter that was more focused on the elephants' well-being than on our entertainment. After reading the Elephant Nature Park described as an "elephant rescue and rehabilitation center," we decided it was the place for us and booked our visit.
The adventure began when we woke up at 6:00am on February 12. The ENP van was coming to get us at 8:00am and we wanted to be sure that we weren't going to miss it (i.e., we were too excited to sleep). ENP is 60 some kilometers outside of Chiang Mai, Thailand and during the ride our guide, Ten, gave our group an overview of the day and then showed us a short Animal Planet documentary about Thailand's elephants that featured Lek, ENP's founder, and her work. Although we had done our research on the parks, we hadn't done our research on elephants and found the film startling. It opened showing people using baby elephants to beg in Thai cities. The baby elephant was rocking back and forth on its feet and kept lifting them up, a sign that it was in distress. Elephants' feet are incredibly sensitive -- they feel vibrations through their feet -- so city streets are just a wretched place for them to be. We didn't know that about elephants. And we didn't know that riding on the back of an elephant is terribly painful for them -- while they have strong necks, their spines cannot hold the weight of people day in and day out.
When we caught our first glimpse of ENP, I could see why Animal Planet had deemed it "elephant heaven." Wide open grassland, jungles, and a winding river greeted us, a stark contrast to the pavilions and piles of grass at the other elephant camps we passed along the way. The other thing that greeted us was a dog and its vivacious wagging tail. After Bangkok was flooded in 2011, ENP started a dog rescue and is now home to 360+ canines. They also rescue dogs from the illegal meat trade in Lao and Vietnam and they take in abandoned dogs as well.
Ten gave us an overview and instructions for the day and then we had a few minutes to look around before we got to feed Dani. I walked over to the feeding platform to see one of the elephants who giving herself a dirt bath to cool off while she was eagerly awaiting her breakfast. She scooped up dirt with her trunk and then tossed it up on her back, on either side of her belly, and underneath her belly. I'm pretty sure she was smiling.
Walking over to our group, I stumbled on (literally) this little guy.
That's the face of a happy dog!
After giving my furry four legged friend a good belly rub, it was time to feed Dani. Dani was a logging elephant rescued in 2010. We all took turns giving her watermelon and bananas, which she just gobbled up whole. We'd hold out a piece of watermelon and she'd wrap her trunk around it and put it in her mouth. While she was chomping away, she'd reach out for another piece of fruit.
In no time, she'd finished eating and was on her way. Brian and I were expecting to spend the hours in between Dani's feeding and bath watching the elephants roam the park from the viewing platform, so we were quite surprised when Ten led us out into the park to meet some of the other elephants. Each elephant was unique and while we don't remember all the elephants' names like Ten does, their stories are hard to forget.
One elephant has a stump for a foot after having stepped on a land mine while working. She receives daily treatments to ensure that all these years later it doesn't become infected.
Mae Lanna was blinded when she refused to work. She was pregnant, but she was forced to continue logging. She had her baby while pulling logs up a hill and the baby fell down the hill. She tried to go after it, but the loggers wouldn't let her. Depressed, she laid down and stopped working and so the loggers shot her in the eyes until she would obey them, blinding her in the process.
Medo was injured while working in the logging industry and then in a forced breeding program. When the male elephant didn't like her, he began attacking her. She wasn't able to escape because she'd been tied up. As you can see from the picture, her back legs are just a mess.
The majority of the elephants also went through Phajaan when they were young to train them as a working elephant, which left them with physical and emotional scars. We had heard people refer to this tradition of breaking an elephant's spirit and thought that it might be similar to breaking in a horse. After watching a documentary that showed just the first three days of the process, we concluded that it is an absolute horrendous ordeal. Even Brian was shaking his head saying "If my family caught me doing any of that to one of our animals, they would whoop my a$$ … and I wouldn't be at the dinner table for a long time."
A baby elephant was taken from her mothers, squeezed into a cage or pen, and then tied up so that she couldn't move. For days, she was starved and prevented from sleeping through constant beatings. If she didn't obey a command (such as to lift her leg…but remember, she was tied up so she really couldn't "obey" even if she tried), sensitive areas on her body - her feet and behind her ears - were repeatedly stabbed with sharpened nails. Ten told us that elephants' eyes are incredibly expressive and, even on film, we could see the sheer terror of the baby elephant being subjected to Phajaan. Since this was the first time the baby elephant was without its mother, it is tough to know whether she was crying for her mother, because of the pain, or both, but no matter her cries were heart wrenching. Lek was there for the filming of the documentary and while she wasn't able to convince the villagers to try another approach, she did get their consent to provide medical care to the baby elephant. While she and her vet were cleaning the baby's wounds, it used its trunk to try to do the same. Up to that point, I had tears in my eyes, but seeing that little trunk feel around its bloodied feet opened the flood gates. Again, the film just showed the first few days, so it was tough to stomach even the thought of what the rest of the tradition looked like and of all that the baby elephant had to endure.
As we were watching a family of elephants, including a three month old baby girl, enjoy an afternoon snack after their baths, the beauty of what Lek and her staff are doing at ENP really hit us. With the exception of the babies born at the park, she bought every elephant, no matter how "damaged" they are. They spend months training the elephants to respond to positive reinforcement - if anyone gets injured in the process, it is them and not the elephants. They teach the elephants to forage, giving them independence and a chance at surviving in the wild should the day come when they can safely be set free. They respect the personalities and needs of the elephants. For example, if an elephant is having a bad day (yep, even elephants can wake up on the wrong side of the bed), then that elephant stays in the jungle instead of coming down to hang out with Steph and Brian. If elephants don't get along, then the staff don't force them to be near each other. If an elephant is sensitive to loud noises such as cars or motorbikes, then they keep that elephant in the jungle away from the main hubbub of the park. Lek and her staff have spearheaded a new model of trekking with elephants where instead of riding on the elephants you walk beside them. Lek says that she's just showing them love and tenderness.
Before we left ENP, we got to give Dani a bath. As I watched Brian rub down her trunk, Dani happily wagging her tail and chomping down on another basket of fruit, all I could think was that if elephants really never forget, then love must conquer all. And if love works for elephants, it should work for the rest of us, too.
**For information about the Elephant Nature Park, visit: www.elephantnaturepark.org or www.saveelephant.org.**
Just some of the highlights from our day at the Elephant Nature Park...
Despite the herd coming toward us, we couldn't hear them! Elephants are surprisingly quiet. As you can see, the Elephant Nature Park is gorgeous. It's estimated that there are only 1500 Asian elephants in the wild in Thailand while there are approximately 3000 domesticated elephants. Many of the park's residents spend their days in the jungle behind Steph where they are learning survival skills. Lek's hope is that one day it'll be safe for them to return to the wild.
While we were watching this little family grazing by the river, the baby suddenly just fell over. "No worries, quick nap," Ten told us. A minute later, she was back on her feet. One of the things we learned about baby elephants is that they receive care from their mother and also a nanny, who may or may not be related to them. This baby's nanny is the elephant right behind her. We also learned that elephants take quick naps.
After bathing in the river, some of the elephants like to take a mud bath to stay cool. We'll let you guess which ones.
Elephants' skin is an inch thick. We caught this one trying to scratch an itch...
...and then we caught her little sister copying her!
This ol' girl had just finished with her physical therapy for the day. Steph scratched behind her ears as a reward and she loved it! At one point, we could've sworn she laughed.
Brian showing great form while helping to bathe Dani.
Steph's I-just-gave-an-elephant-a-bath!!! face.
