Elephant Nature Park

Hello everyone!  For the past week I have been volunteering at the Elephant Nature Park, which is located about an hour outside of Chiang Mai.  The park offers abused and injured elephants a beautiful sanctuary where they can form their own families, wander the park at their leisure, and live peaceful lives.  This is such a special place and I feel so privileged to have been able to be a part of it. 

Here is the clinic where they treat sick and injured elephants.

Each of the elephants has its own mahout.  Many of the mahouts are from Burma and several have been with their elephants for years.  It’s great to see the special bond some of the mahouts have with their elephants.  You can totally see the love, trust and respect they share.  

The park was started by a woman named Lek who wanted to create a better life for Asian elephants.  She believes that elephants can be trained through positive reinforcement instead of pain and fear.  She also believes that tourists will embrace  attractions that allow them to witness elephants living in a peaceful, natural environment as opposed to performing silly tricks where they are made to paint, play soccer, etc.  These tricks do not come naturally to elephants and it’s not what they want to be doing.  She showed us a 2 minute clip of a film exposing the phaajan or training proceedings where elephants are literally tortured by humans to break their spirit and make them mortally afraid of their keepers so that they will obey their commands.  It’s disgusting and breaks your heart.  The elephants are beaten, have hooks poked into their very sensitive ears, deprived of sleep and tied up in ropes and chains for days on end until they learn to submit.  The poor elephants are terrified, bleeding and all alone.  These tactics have been used for hundreds of years in Thailand and it’s very difficult trying to change the mindset of keepers, but Lek is steadfast in her determination to help affect this change.  She is working with other elephant camps in Thailand, Sri Lanka and other places to replicate what is being done in ENP. 

I asked Lek about her position on elephant trekking attractions.  She said that the best case scenario is to find a trekking company that allows visitors to ride the elephant without a seat, but she acknowledges that those are harder to find.  The seats placed on elephants’ backs are very heavy and not ideal for the elephant, as they can cause injury after many years of wearing them.  Lek did say that as long as the elephant looks like it is being well treated and cared for that these programs are OK because they do support working elephants.  Many of these camps do genuinely care for elephants and take good care of them, wanting to find a way to help keep them employed and able to cover the tremendous cost of their maintenance and upkeep.  There isn’t as much work available for domestic elephants these days, which is why many of them are brought to the streets of Bangkok to beg.  These poor elephants live under bridges and are put at constant risk of being hit by a car or bus by walking in the busy city streets.  It is illegal for elephants to live in cities, but the fines are extremely low so they do not act as an effective deterrent for owners.  If you see an elephant in Bangkok begging on the streets do not pay the mahout to give it food, as this just perpetuates the cycle.  Lek explained that mahouts have to maintain a certain level of care for the elephants, as the owners will not allow their elephants to be malnourished.  This means that the elephants on the streets aren’t starving nor will they starve if you don’t feed them.  There really is no urban living condition that is humane or beneficial to the elephant so the best case scenario here is to keep elephants off the streets.  Education is really the key…educating mahouts about humane training practices, educating owners that eco-tourism destinations like ENP instead of circus-like shows will and do generate income, and educating tourists about ways they can support elephants that are good for the animal.   I don’t think any of the tourists who pay to feed elephants in Bangkok or visit these camps where elephants are painting or throwing a ball realize what is going on behind the scenes.  If they did I’m sure they’d avoid such attractions.  The reason they are paying to see elephants is because they are intrigued by them and want to see them.  This is why I’ve gone on elephant treks here in Thailand.  Obviously much work remains to help these beautiful animals, but I am encouraged to know that places like ENP and people like Lek exist. 

Lek means small in Thai and while Lek is petite in stature, she has a tremendous heart and is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the health and welfare of elephants.  Her passion is infectious and I am so impressed with this wonderful world she has created for these gentle and loving animals.  Here’s a picture of Lek.  Could she be more adorable? 

Allow me to introduce you to some of the residents of this wonderful place.  First we have Jokia who is blind in both eyes.  Jokia is from Burma and originally worked in the logging industry, but after the government issued a ban on logging Jokia found herself out of work. Without an income to support the expense of feeding and looking after an elephant, her owners had to sell her.  She was pregnant at the time she was sold, but lost her baby in an accident.  Jokia was very depressed after losing her baby and didn’t feel much like working.  This angered her new owners and they forced her into submission by blinding her with a slingshot.  Horrifying! 

When Jokia arrived at the park another elephant by the name of Mae Perm immediately befriended her and they have been inseparable ever since.  They are so adorable together.  One day while I was there Jokia wasn’t sure where her BFF was so she gave a quick trumpet, which was immediately returned by Mae Perm along with a tap of her trunk on the ground so Jokia could feel the vibrations and get a better sense of her location.  It is such an amazing friendship and wonderful to witness. 

Another elephant that has a special place in my heart is the lovely Mae Do.  Her story is also heartbreaking, starting with a logging accident that broke her ankle, which never properly set and left her unable to work.  As no one wanted to employ a lame elephant, Mae Do was forced to breed.  All four of her legs were chained so she had no way to protect herself from the large and powerful bull that was selected for her.  Unfortunately, because this bull was in full musth, he didn’t simply mate with her, but instead attacked her and broke her back.  Her physical disabilities are gut wrenching, but her once broken spirit has been restored since being at the park.  Please meet Mae Do.  She is sweet, gentle and has incredibly soft skin on her trunk.  Her mahout is loving and kind and has been with her for many years.  She certainly deserves a good life after all of the pain and suffering she has endured. 

Like Jokia, she has a BFF at the park. 

Malai Tong was the victim of a landmine as you will see below.  After her accident she was made to beg on the streets of Bangkok.  An injured elephant generates sympathy dollars and made her owner a handsome income.  Like the others, Malai Tong now enjoys a peaceful life at the park and is even expecting a baby any day now. 

This next trouble maker is the adolescent, Jungle Boy.  He is a handful and has boundless energy.  Jungle Boy’s mother was a trekking elephant who was made to work long hours even while pregnant.  Lek paid the pregnant mother’s rent until she delivered Jungle Boy.  Both baby and mother had to go back to work in the trekking camps, but eventually their freedom was bought and now Jungle Boy enjoys keeping his mahout on his toes at all times.  Jungle Boy is easy to spot, as he is the only one with long tusks. 

There are 33 elephants at the park right now, including 2 babies.  The babies are insanely adorable.  Check them out. 

Now that you’ve met some of the elephants, let me give you a little glimpse of a day in the life of a volunteer at ENP.  Each morning I would wake up and be treated to this magnificent view.  I am not a morning person at all, yet each morning I looked forward to looking out my window and seeing this stunning view.  

Here’s the inside of my room.

This is my roomie, Kristen.  She’s from Colorado.  OMG another American!  I’ve only met about 10 Americans in the 4 months I’ve been traveling.  We got along great!  In fact, our entire group of volunteers got along exceptionally well.  According to our volunteer coordinators, we were one of the best groups in a long time.  Maybe they say that to all the volunteers, but I doubt it.  We were the bomb! 

OK back to the schedule.  Breakfast was served each morning promptly at 7:00 AM.  Every single meal I had at ENP was delicious and it was buffet style so you know it was an eating extravaganza each and every time.  I practically licked my plate after every meal.  For those of you who know me, you know this is no exaggeration.  Thanks, mom, for hooking it up in the metabolism department.  

Our morning chores started at 8:00 AM and involved either shoveling poo, cutting corn or preparing elephant food.  We rotated chores each day to keep it interesting.   

My first chore was shoveling poo and believe it or not, but this was my favorite chore.  It was fun to be on the grounds, as you never knew if or when an inquisitive elephant may pop by to check in.

Poo Patrol, Poo Posse, Poo People…..we were in it to win it, folks. 

On day 1 we had a trailer to haul the poo to the area where it would later become fertilizer, but….

the tractor broke so we then had to push the cart to the poo zone.  It was kind of like a grocery cart, but instead of tasty treats it was filled with heaps of poo.  Oh yeah! 

After poo duty we needed to clean the mud pit.  Yes, I said clean the mud pit.  After bathing, the elephants like to cover themselves in mud, which acts as a natural sunscreen.  The adult elephants don’t like rolling around in pee and poo filled mud so we needed to get in there and remove the water with buckets and then scrape out all the skank mud/poo/who knows what and refill the pit with water.  Here’s the mud pit before we cleaned it. 

Here we are in action.  This is at the beginning of the cleaning.  Unfortunately, I don’t have after pictures to show you.  Some of the volunteers and Chet, one of our volunteer coordinators, were covered in mud from head to toe after engaging in a mud slinging battle.  It was definitely a sight to behold. 

It was so wonderful to see the elephants’ reaction to the immaculate mud pit.  They were in absolute ecstasy.  Take a look for yourselves. 

My next morning chore was to prepare elephant food.  As you can imagine 33 elephants require a lot of food.  Each elephant has its own basket

which is filled with scrumptious snacks including bananas, watermelon, pumpkins, and corn.  Diets are catered to each specific elephant….some need fattening up, some can’t chomp down on the hard shell of a watermelon or pumpkin, etc.  We needed to soak the watermelons and pumpkins in water for about 10 minutes and then give them a quick scrub to remove any pesticides, as elephants eat the entire watermelon/pumpkin, rind and all. 

The watermelon is cut in half, but if you happen to grab two halves at once with the intention of having the next bite ready after you give the first half, many of the elephants will go ahead and take the other half, shoveling the entire watermelon in one bite.  Hmm, this sounds a bit like my family.  hahaha!

The elephants also eat entire bunches of bananas.  We break them off into more manageable bunches, but it’s still 6 or 7 bananas in one bite. 

We also must peel hundreds of ears of corn.  The elephants eat the entire ear, but they don’t like the husk.

The final morning chore was cutting corn.  We were advised to wear long sleeved shirts and gloves (provided by ENP), long pants, and close toed shoes for this activity, as well as an extra t-shirt to wrap around our faces to protect them from the sharp stalks of chopped corn we’d be heaving onto our shoulders to transport to the truck.  Hin, another one of our volunteer coordinators, gave us a tutorial on how to wrap the t-shirt around our faces and then handed us machetes to go to town on some corn. 

Yeah, baby!  Look at all the corn we chopped.  We rule!!!

Of course the corn doesn’t load itself on the truck…back to work.       

After all the corn was in the truck we hopped on top of the corn and headed back to ENP.

Snack time!  We deserve it.  Here’s Hin who shares my enthusiasm for snacks.  Bring it on! 

Around 11 or 11:30 it’s elephant feeding time.  Elephants are extremely intelligent so they are well aware of feeding time.  Some even come to hang out a bit early in hopes of scoring a little somethin somethin before the official dining bell is sounded. 

Volunteers and day visitors are invited to feed the elephants daily.  It was definitely a  highlight for me. 

At noon it’s time to feed the humans.  All of the volunteers were like wild beasts waiting for the buffet line to open.  After all those chores we definitely worked up an appetite. 

At 1:00 PM it was time to bathe the elephants in the river.  This is also open to day visitors and is so much fun. 

Some of the elephants get really in to bath time.  It’s awesome to watch them having so much fun. 

After their baths we are invited to feed them slices of bread.  When we feed them lunch we generally place the fruit on their curled trunk, but with the bread we actually put it directly in their mouths. 

The herd that contains both babies are fed and bathed separately, as the adults are very protective of the babies and it could be potentially dangerous for us if we accidentally upset the baby.  No one wants an angry mommy or auntie coming after them.  Once we finish bathing the other elephants we are told to go up to the observatory.  While I love bathing the elephants, it’s also a lot of fun to watch them bathe as well.  The babies are hysterical and love to crawl all over each other.   

Of course after bath time it’s time to lube up in the mud pit and then set the mud with a little dirt on top. 

Around 2:00 PM our afternoon chores took place and could be anything that needed attention around the park.  I cleaned a wall that was going to later be painted, gathered sugar cane as an afternoon treat for the elephants, peeled corn, etc. 

Another day we planted papaya trees at Lek’s new property about an hour from ENP.  Before this property is ready for the elephants it needs to be reforested.  As per usual, we loaded into the truck and were off to the new property.  We look like a bunch of bandits.

The drive to the new property is absolutely gorgeous and the new property is also stunning. I can’t wait to see how it looks once all of the crops and trees take root. 

Here are pics of the trees we planted.  We left the plastic next to them initially so that folks wouldn’t accidentally step on them.

After planting we were treated to a dip in the waterfall.

These chores generally lasted about 2 hours.  Sometimes we had evening activities.  On our first night at the park we had a welcome ceremony with a shaman and were treated to traditional music performed by local students. 

Another night we had a Thai language lesson to help prepare us for our afternoon at a local school.   

After we learned some Thai phrases it was time to sing some songs and have a dance party.

Banana Unite was definitely a fave of our group.  This song came with its own choreography and you better believe that we were shecking our bananas.

Scheck scheck banana, baby!  Sheck it all night long!!!

The next day we went to a local school and played with the kids.  They were so adorable.  We danced the hokie pokie, sang Old MacDonald and Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, and played hopscotch and patty cake.  A good time was had by all. 

This little girl was my BFF for the day. 

Another special event that coincided with my stay was a charity bike ride for elephants that was started by a Dutch lady named Antoinette who visited ENP about 7 years ago, fell in love with it, and started her own organization called Bring the Elephant Home.  Antoinette needed additional photographers for her event so I offered to help.  Meet Antoinette. 

These lovely ladies are the ENP photographers and videographers who were also helping to record the ride.  They are adorable and we had a lot of fun together. 

The bike ride was 2 days and the halfway point was ENP.  The riders camped at the park.  It was great to have them here with us.   

It was our last night at the park so we definitely had some celebrating to do.

To make our celebration even better, we ended the evening with a bonfire and lit some of the lanterns you have seen in earlier blogs.  Several of the volunteers and volunteer coordinators played music and sang songs.  It was absolutely gorgeous and such a wonderful way to celebrate our last night at the park. 

In the morning the bikers headed out to finish their ride.  Of course, you know the elephants had to come over to see what was happening on the park grounds.  They are such characters. 

I think it’s appropriate to end this blog entry with a pic of an elephant giving me a kiss, as this experience touched me deeply and filled my heart with so much joy.  I cannot say enough positive things about my time at ENP and if you find yourself in Chiang Mai you must make plans to visit the Elephant Nature Park.  www.elephantnaturepark.org  They offer day trips, overnight trips, and volunteer opportunities.  The chores are for the volunteers so if poo scooping and mud pit cleaning aren’t your thing, no worries, you don’t have to do it.  You will get to feed them, bathe them, and watch them frolic and play in a beautiful natural setting.  I guarantee you will love every second of your time at the park.  Do it, do it, do it!

A huge shout out to the other volunteers and staff of ENP!  I had such a wonderful time with you and I will never forget this experience.  Thank you for making my time at ENP so memorable and fun.  I will definitely keep in touch.

Next stop on the Tiff travel train is Mae Hong Son, Thailand.  I’ll see you soon.