This herd featured a young male and his mother who had stepped on a landmine.

This is Kabu, who suffered awful leg injuries while working in logging.

Backstories to some of the elephants at the Elephant Nature Park.

This is Jenny, a youngster who has earned a reputation for being very naughty.

On our way back to Chiang Mai, we passed this Atlas Obscura listed site featuring an A330.

Main Paddock, Elephant Nature Park

June 25 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

After lunch, we walked around a paddock near the main facilities. Along the way, our guide Tommy shared the backstories of many of the elephants we encountered. We also watched the vets treating a wound.

The names of the elephants and their stories became a bit of a blur, but one stood out. Kabu had been rescued from an illegal logging camp, and she had sustained really horrific leg injuries. But, she has managed to heal at the Elephant Nature Park by bonding with another elephant with a leg injury. Together, they recovered and moved on.

We left the sanctuary at around 3pm after 5.5 hours on site. It was a fulfilling day. The Elephant Nature Park is more expensive than its competitors, but I was happy to experience a sanctuary that focused on the wellbeing of its rescued animals instead of simply targeting the tourist dollar.Read more