7th Nov 2012

Had the most amazing day today! Loved every second of it.

Started early with breakfast and pick up to go to the elephant nature park. This is a sanctuary for previously abused or abandoned elephants. They do not 'work' the elephants there, so no trekking/ riding on them but you spend the whole day looking after them and learning about Asian elephants and how they are treated in Thailand.

When we got there if was a gorgeous site- 200 acres- lush green grass surrounded by hills covered with jungle and a river running through the middle. There are 33 elephants there and our guide knew all their names and history and told us all about them. Each elephant had a man, called a mahout, to look after them and control them if needed.

We started with feeding, firstly a couple of female elephants that were inseparable. One of them had broke her back with her previous owner after being forced to mate with a much bigger male. When she got to the park, the other female elephant took to her straight away, they now will not be separated and if the disabled elephant ever is startled or cries the other will rush to her aide. They were happy to be fed- you can tell as they flap their ears when they are happy and they let you stand right next to them and stroke them- their skin is very tough- an inch thick but also very sensitive so they feel insect bites!

After we fed those two we then fed a family- 3 adult females and 1 young girl and 1 young boy. They eat watermelon, bananas and pumpkin- preferring the sweet fruit first! They will refuse the pumpkin if they see banana or watermelon available! There are 2 adolescent males in the sanctuary, but they were kept at a distance today and apart as they had been 'naughty'.

Feeding time was finished so we went to visit the new baby elephant- 10 days old! Much hairier than the adults and tiny, she was so cute. She is kept in a pen with her mother for the first 6 months as they are unsure how the other elephants might respond to her, so wait till she is stronger and bigger.

We met the vet and learned lots about their teeth and illnesses they can get.

Lunch was great, a vegetarian buffet, rice noodles and vegetables and lots of it!

Then bathing the elephants! This was so much fun- throwing buckets of water over them, whilst they filled their trunks and showered themselves. We scrubbed them too with brushes to remove any ticks and when we were done they went straight into the mud pit to cover themselves- they use mud as sun cream.

They then showed us a video about the abuse that happens it was really sad. Domestic Elephants in Thailand have the same protection as cattle and chickens as they are classed as livestock meaning killing or bad treatment of them goes unpunished.

The majority of working elephants still go through a tradition called 'the crush' which is hundreds of years old and is designed to crush their spirit so they become obedient workers. They are forced into a wooden cage and beaten and starved of food and sleep for 7 days until they respond how the owners want them to, it was horrible to watch.

The sanctuary also cares for up to 300 stray dogs and one of these gave everyone a surprise when he leapt at the projector screen at the sight of another dog, apparently he has been doing this for years and he always makes sure he is in the room when the film is being played, in high season its three times a day!

There was a little quiz afterwards- in which we won a bag!

Time for another feeding, stroking the elephants before we left. It was a really really good day!Read more