Huai Ngun

Inside the Elephant nature park there was also a cat and dog rescue. The cats (2000 of them!) are kept in multiple “cat kingdoms” - outdoor fenced beautiful habitats made just for them. Visitors all day, every day come in and are able to just sit and love on these cats. It was incredible to have so much feline affection. Also incredible was the lack of infighting - I didn’t expect that. At one point, Jordan and I must have had at least a dozen cats on and around us. It was awesome.

They are well cared for - they are quarantined when they arrive. They get a vet visit, wormed, shots, and neutered/spayed. At the end of quarantine they slowly get released into the larger settings. Since it gets chilly at night in Northern Thailand many of the short hair cats have sweaters put on them daily. It was cute.

They also have a dog rescue. Sadly, MANY strays are hit by cars in Thailand and are left paralyzed. Most get brought here. They have over 600 dogs living there, 40 of which are paralyzed and in wheel chairs. 50 or more of the friendlier 600 are free roaming and attach themselves to a manhout working with their elephant, lay around the compound or wander in friendly packs. The herding dogs spent their days rounding up the water Buffalo, whether they liked it or not. 😂 The rest are in dog runs in quarantine, or in groupings of “like size and type” of dogs.

The adoption of the small animals stopped with Covid, but is starting again now, so they’re hoping to start getting them into homes.

The park is funded by tourists staying there overnight like we did or coming to visit for a day trip - the day we got there 160 people arrived to see the park. They also have lots of corporate and personal sponsorship. They also have a volunteer program - people flock there to pay $400 a week to work there!! Some come back over and over again. The seven veterinarians they have are also volunteers - tho they don’t pay for that privilege. 😂

Again, an amazing experience run by amazing people. It’s not perfect - but it’s definitely a better situation for these animals than how they were before they came there.Read more