Do your CHANG hang low?

HEY! Brenna and Reid here! This morning we took a one hour bus ride to Mae Tang Elephant Park. This will be the place we will do survey work. Today our role was to act like tourists. When we first arrived, we sat down on bleachers to watch the elephants do a show. The elephants were able to do a number of tricks- they showed off their soccer skills, basketball skills and painting skills. We even got to hear an elephant band! (They were a little off beat; although they played it off by dancing along to themselves). At the end of the show, Dr. M got a big wet kiss from one of the performers (yes, it was an elephant). 


After the show, we went to visit some shops put up by some northern hill tribes from the Myanmar border. We bought a lot of handmade goodies. Lots of woven scarves, bags and traditional headpieces were available for sale. There were women from the Karen tribe there. You may recognize the Karen tribe by the golden rings they put on to lengthen their necks! Actually, the rings only push down their clavicle to make their necks look longer. Some of us got to even put some of the rings on for a photo.

After shopping, we went to an organization connected to the Mae Tang Elephant Park called "Hug Chang" (Love Elephant). We changed into a swimsuit and some raggedy clothes to wear over. A guide told us a little about Asian elephants. Asian elephants eat 10% of their body weight every day and only sleep for 2-3 hour a night (since they have to wake up to eat more food!). There are only around 3,000 Asian elephants left in the wild. Elephants used to be used heavily to help humans do work. When elephants got sore after working, the elephant keepers knew how to relieve tension by treating the elephants with a mix of herbs. After learning about the elephants, we grabbed a bucket of food. The guide told us how to make  a healthy treat for the elephants that was high in minerals. We took some mineral-rich dirt, some salt and BioMix and mixed it with water into a ball. To make it tasty for the elephants, we covered it in tamarind.





 After preparing the food, we were able to get up close with the elephants and feed them. One baby elephant, named "Boosan" was not able to see well after getting injured in a landmine explosion. She would hold her mouth open wide for you to place then food into her mouth because her trunk was deformed in the explosion. We fed them lots (although they were still hungry afterwards) and took many pictures with them. They were eager to pose as long as they got their favorite food (bananas) after. The guides took another elephant to the side, named "Wandii" and taught us the proper way to approach and bond with the elephants. You must talk slowly, make eye contact and use both hands to touch them.



After some feeding and bonding, the elephants were in the river ready to be bathed. We all went into the river with the elephants. They kneeled so that we could reach their backs. We splashed water onto the elephants and scrubbed them with the wood-soap we created. The wood-soap helps to get the small bugs off the elephants. When we finished washing, the elephant keepers told us to get on top of the elephants. It was like climbing a giant rock! We felt bad stepping all over them, but the keepers assured us they couldn't feel it. Once we were on, the elephants began to stand. We were riding bareback, so we were super wobbly when the elephant would move. It was terrifying, but the coolest experience ever!

When the elephant ride was over, we went to the cafeteria in the elephant park. After stuffing ourselves at the buffet, we visited the veterinarian center at the park. There was an elephant there who had gotten bitten by another elephant. The wound was on the tail, so the veterinarian showed us how to clean and treat the wound. They clean the wound once a day, and it should be completely healed in two months.

After a long day hanging out with elephants, we headed back to our hotel. At 6:00 we went to dinner at Lemongrass- a Thai food place. We had dishes such as khao soi, green curry and pineapple fried rice. For dessert we had a lovely fried banana and coconut ice cream dish, YUM!

We have had so many exciting experiences in the week and a half we've been in Chiang Mai! We are ready to sleep and start a new day!