A Trip to Elephant Nature Park – Chiang Mai, Thailand

IMG_5911Elephant imagery is ubiquitous in Thailand. The animal takes on the form of the god Ganesh in Hinduism, and while Thailand is 95% Buddhist, Indian religious influence is clear. The sad irony of the situation is that the Asian elephant is in dire straights in Thailand. It is estimated that at the turn of the 20th Century, there were 100,000 elephants in Thailand. That number has plunged dramatically to an estimated 5,000 today. Of these, about 2,000 are in the wild and 3,000 in captivity as domestic elephants. A dismal situation became even worse following the Thai ban on logging in 1989, when many of the working domestic elephants were suddenly out of a job. With a fixed cost and an income stream suddenly threatened, elephant owners either abandoned their animals or brought them into big cities such as Bangkok where they would entertain tourists on the loud, crowded streets for change. These elephants didn’t eat enough, didn’t bathe enough, they walked on polluted city streets, and breathed congested air. It was a horrible existence for these majestic beasts that are meant to naturally roam the forests. This practice has since been banned, and fortunately, Thai cities are essentially elephant free today.

My girlfriend loves elephants. From the first day I met her, this passion was apparent. Her dream in life has always been to see an elephant in the wild, or within a humane environment. Trying to find a conscious place to see and interact with these animals was no easy task. Ultimately, we found a wonderful place called Elephant Nature Park, started by an exceptional woman, Lek Chailert. She was born in one of the many hill tribe villages around Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, and became close with elephants after her grandfather, who was a shaman, received one as a gift for helping a local person through sickness. Cognizant of the plight of Thai elephants, Lek started Elephant Nature Park in 1996 to rescue abused, old, abandoned and orphaned elephants. The park is now home to 43 of these magnificent animals, some more than eighty years old, along with some babies. In fact, five elephants have been born in the park since it opened.

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