Fourth Day of Surveying:)

Lohith and Anna are explaining the occurrence of events today.

We started our day by eating breakfast, per usual and headed off to Mae Tang Elephant Park for more survey work. Compared to the day after the king's birthday, today was a lot more successful! Most of the tourists that we survey have English as their second language which creates a language barrier. However, today was a lot more of a relief. A lot more of the tourist spoke English well which allowed us to conduct more surveys:). Due to the prior day of survey being a Thai holiday, there weren't as many people who came to the park therefore there not as many surveys were conducted. Today the number of surveys that were completed spiked up! This concludes the surveying at the Mae Tang elephant park (where elephant shows take place). 

At Hug Chang, just a few minutes away by drive, three members of our group are chosen to survey at this location. Due to a high volume of Chinese tourist that come to this area, it is nearly impossible for the group of students to match the number of surveys to the students that are at Mae Tang. This gave our members a chance to bond with the faculty more and to learn more about elephant preservation. For example, Lohith talked to one of the mahoots. He explained in depth about ancestral elephant domestication practices. She talked about how in order domesticate wild elephants, ancient Thai tribes would create a barrier around these majestic giants, allowing them to monitor their position. They then would take oats to treat the elephants with proper respect. By doing this, as well as feeding them, it would gain the elephant's trust, allowing them to train them in necessary tasks, such as transportation of large objects. Along with learning about ancestral domestication of elephants, the others at Hug Chang were able to bond with the elephants working. Overall, at Hug Chang there was one European, Chinese (who did not contribute to the survey), and Israeli group. This concluded our day of surveying, making members of the group eager to get the most surveys tomorrow. Today Garret received the most surveys with 12. 

At 6pm the group headed out for dinner. Today was a twist from the normal occurrence. Rather than having Thai food, as usual, the group indulged in healthy American food (protein shakes, salads, and wraps). It was lit! It was interesting to eat food that we were familiar with which made us feel a little homesick. It was fun being able to reflect on our days and share our different experiences on this trip while being able to eat some good food. Finally we headed back to the hotel to get some rest, eager to wake up tomorrow and conduct more surveys.