Meeting the Elephants!

Lohith and Hayden have documented the group's experience and impressions on the 9th day of the trip.

At 8am today, he ventured South in Chiang Mai eager to see some elephants. Our experience with elephants was very limited, and the constant chatter about them was nonstop during our one hour drive. Once we arrived, we were astonished at how grand the sanctuary looked. Nearly as soon as we got there, there was a worker who took us to a grand movie theatre. It was nearly two to three times the size of a normal theatre in America, and there were grand drapings of elephants dangling from the high surface of the theatre. The room was colored in red and gold. The amount of money put into this setting was tremendous, and it was evident that it was government-run. We each took our seats towards the front of the theatre, and a film started playing. It addressed the rumors of Thai people abusing elephants. The video explained the importance of elephants in Thai culture, how they are regarded as their own family by their owners, and how Thai people would never abuse these elephants. That was the main gist of the film and was the first thing that the government wanted visitors of the sanctuary to know. After this, we followed our guide around the sanctuary and made our first contact with the elephants.

The elephants were in this little den, behind this barrier made of bamboo. Behind them was a little pond. Asian elephants are smaller than African elephants and are distinguishable by the distinct shape of their ears and head. On top of each elephant was a man, directing their movements and behaviors. They were very well trained. Without hesitation, we eagerly paid 20 baht for a basket of fruits and grass and started feeding these gentle giants. The first skin to skin contact we had with these exotic animals was extremely memorable, and something I, personally, will cherish for the rest of my life.

After feeding the elephants, their master guided them to the pond behind us and bathed them. It was remarkable.  They used a scrubber and rubbed their backs as the elephants wallowed in the cool water. Some were even trained to pick water up with their trunks and to spray it in the air. The master of one elephant did this to impress a curious child.

 After the elephants were bathed, we followed them to a field like area, where they were to work. To make this more entertaining than it already was, there was an elephant trained to beat a drum. It did this the whole way. When we arrived at the elephant work area, we took a seat at the many benches provided. This was sort of a "show" for us, to both explain how useful elephants can be while entertaining us simultaneously. The elephants were trained to bow down and to greet the public. If necessary, the masters had a spear like a stick, and they pricked the elephants whenever necessary. It was later explained to me that this method of training was harmless to the elephants, due to their 6-8cm layer of skin. The elephants were also trained to pick up their master's tools, to transport large pieces of wood, to play catch, and interestingly enough, to paint. Each elephant was trained to paint one specific painting, which would later be sold to the general public as a souvenir.

I even got the opportunity to play catch with one of them during the show!

After the show, we were guided to the elephant hospital on the campus. Here we saw elephants with a variety of symptoms being treated by veterinarians. They were being treated in a standard-sized area, next to many other elephants. After this, we thanked our tour guide, ate lunch at the Sanctuary's restaurant, and headed to our next stop - The Friends of the Asian Elephant hospital.

This sanctuary was different because it was not government-funded or tourist-based. Immediately when we arrived, we were told to watch a short video talking about the abuse elephant's receive and how this organization stands against this abuse, and how their elephants are special to them. This video, however, differed from the first one. It was intended to rather educate the public on the abuse elephants receive, in general, rather than saying directly that they don't abuse elephants. This sanctuary was less touristy, and it was evident that their ambition was to help elephants in need. The video also highlighted the need for prosthetics from elephants walking into landmines and showed that prosthetics was one of the main specializations of the sanctuary. After the video and brief tour, we were shown a few elephants in rehabilitation and were able to ask our guide many questions about them. They clearly educated us about the torment these gentle giants receive on a daily basis and showed us many examples. There was one elephant, in particular, that stood out. It stepped on a landmine and lost a leg. The workers of this sanctuary, after finding the elephant, used many techniques to help this elephant live a long and healthy life. They developed a prosthetic leg for it and even changed the landscape to accommodate for the creature's disability. For example, they elevated the land where the elephant would place its foot by its food source, so it could eat comfortably. 

Model of Elephant Prosthetic Leg

The team looking at models of Prosthetic legs designed for the elephants at The Friends of the Elephant Sanctuary

Elephant injured in Landmine Incident

What made the two sanctuaries different was that the elephants were left to relax more and were more unbothered here than at the other sanctuary. For example, there was an elephant sleeping here. Rather than waking him up for us, our guide told us that we should refrain from disturbing it. This type of sympathetic behavior is what truly differentiated this sanctuary from the first one we visited. After we viewed all of the elephants and learned a little more about them, we took a group photo in front of a statue out front and headed back to the hotel. We had a few hours for free time, and headed for dinner promptly at 6. For dinner, the restaurant we had was Israeli food, with lots of Baba Ganoush, Hummus, Pita, and Falafel. After dinner, we loaded up the vans and headed for the hotel, with almost everyone choosing to stay in and get to sleep early. Overall, it was a very interesting day. We learned more about the abuse elephants receive,  learned about the abuse elephants sometimes receive, were shown lots of films, and got to interact and make contact with these magnificent animals. It was a great introduction for the members of our group to elephants and was truly unforgettable.