Because of mass deforestation in Thailand, many elephants have lost their natural habitats – and their jobs. Without logging work, an elephant’s owner (called a mahout) often turns to street begging or tourism with the elephant. Many elephants are subjected to great abuses and poor nutrition with a city lifestyle. And, as you might imagine, having an elephant walk the streets of places like Bangkok is a nuisance...though laws against it aren’t strictly enforced.
Although wild elephants were abundant (more than 100,000) a hundred years ago in Thailand, there are only 4,000-5,000 left. A few conservationists have stepped up and begun to help elephants return to their natural environment. Dave and Lydia visited one such place while I was at cooking school.
The Elephant Nature Park was founded by a rural Thai woman named Lek Chailert in the 1990s to take in “distressed” elephants (those that are abused, ill, disabled, or used for performances or begging). The park has been a great success, rescuing 35 elephants, and is entirely self-funded. Lek has won many international awards for her conservation work and continues to be active in the day-to-day care of the elephants.
While the Elephant Nature Park draws many, many tourists, there’s a twist. The tourists don’t pay to watch the elephants perform, give rides, or anything like that. The tourists pay to have the privilege of taking care of the elephants for a day – washing, feeding, and playing with them. It turns out that spending a day with elephants is great fun and really rewarding (a bit of redemption for our snake show experience).
The elephant herd:
Mom & baby elephant:
Mom & baby elephant: Elephant skin is really wrinkly...but nice to pet:
The food supply room:
Feeding fun:
Elephants love to play...especially in the mud:
After all that play, it takes a herd of people to get the elephants clean again:
Washing involves lots of splashing, which the elephants enjoy:
And so do little girls:
Here is Lek, the park founder:
The elephants look happy:
As do Dave and Lydia:
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