Southeast Asia

Elephant Nature Park is a sanctuary where they care for over 100 rescued elephants. The elephants there all have physical and/or mental issues from their former lives in riding camps, circuses, and the logging industry. Tourists at Elephant Nature Park are able to observe these animals at a safe distance. Due to their injuries and disabilities, these elephants are not a good fit for being hand fed by strangers. Elephant Nature Park has sister projects, including Elephant Highlands, where I visited. There are 3 elephants at Elephant Highlands, and they take one tour group of about 10 people per day there. The elephants who live at the Highlands project are suitable to live there because they do not have any conditions that require a lot of veterinary care, they can walk longer distances, and they are comfortable with people. At night they stay in a large enclosure with a sheltered area, food, and a manmade pond. Each morning the caretakers let them out to walk down the road about a mile to meet the tourist van. They walk free but they are coaxed along with treats, plus it’s their routine and walking is good for their digestion. We then walked with them back to their home, feeding them constantly along the way. Seriously, you had to feed them constantly, or they may briefly get a little pushy with their trunks… checking to make sure you really don’t have any more fruit, then quickly get bored with you. 😄Read more