Green Elephant Sanctuary

This morning we got up early to catch the 6:30am ferry so that we could go to the Green Elephant Sanctuary by 8am. When we arrived, there was a group of about 30 people that had already started their tour, and a group of another 30 that we joined and waited for the next tour.

The tour began with a meet and greet with the elephants. They had 10 or so elephants standing in a large sandy area with buckets of food surrounding them. We were free to approach the elephants, feed them fresh fruit, and stroke them on their sides, face, and trunks. There was one poor elephant who we were not allowed to go near because she had traumatic experiences with humans earlier in life, so she just stands in the corner watching her friends play while she eats from a pile of grass.

Once we had run out of food to feed them, we went for a tour of their sleeping quarters. They had many large open-ended sheds for the elephants to sleep in. Apparently they spend time with tourists in the morning, then they are free to roam the jungle behind the sanctuary, and then at night time they come back to sleep in the sheds. They come back willingly because they know that the sheds are safe and they know where the food and water is.

We also learned here that each elephant has a personal carer called a "mahoot". The mahoot stays with the elephant for the rest of their life. If the mahoot dies before the elephant, then the mahoot's children take on the role as mahoot for that elephant. So elephants become a part of the mahoot's family for generations (one family has been mahoots for 500+ years!).

We went back to play with the elephants, this time having a mud bath with them. We could get sloppy mud and rub it on their sides. This apparently helps them cool off.

Then into the pond where we splashed buckets of water into the elephants. There was one cheeky elephant that was blowing water onto her own back, as if to say "you aren't doing it right, splash me here", and which got us completely soaked!

Finally, we went to the elephant shower which was a huge rain shower where we washed the elephants with brushes and got all the mud off. It was such an awesome experience being so close to the elephants!

After the experience, we had the option to shower before having a lunch of Thai food - noodles, chicken, veges, rice. The staff brought out a celebratory cake for our Honeymoon. Not sure how they knew, must have written it on a form months ago when we booked, but it was really special!

The elephants looked like they were well cared for. They have plenty of space to roam, they have shelter, shade, and water. The staff and mahoot look like they really enjoy looking after the elephants. They told us some cool stories about the elephants they have saved and how they enjoy being with their friends. We didn't see any forms of physical pain tools when we were there such as pins, sticks, hooks. They just used verbal instructions to guide the elephants where to go for each activity.

They also had photographers walking around taking photos of us while we were in the pools, so I'll download them when they're available.Read more