Visiting Elephants

Tuesday, 11 February 2014

A trip to the Elephant Nature Park and a chance to see over 30 elephants that have been rescued from logging or trekking camps. These elephants are now kept in a large park and allowed to roam free. It was an amazing experience. We got a chance to bathe one of the elephants in the river by throwing buckets of water on it. Plus we got to a chance to feed the elephants and walk the grounds with the elephants. There were 3 babies and this little one is only 5 months old. He was tiny, cute and so hairy!


Each elephant has a story and all the stories are sad and heart breaking. This elephant - Jarunee - was rescued in 2007 from a logging camp. She is blind and covered in scars from poor treatment. Many of the elephants have been mistreated and that is why there are at this park. They are rescued from logging or trekking camps, from street begging and circus performances. You can sponsor an elephant for just 3,000 baht and this helps to pay for the elephant's food. They eat a lot! Over 200 KG of food a day. Plus a ton of water. So intense to keep an elephant fed and watered. We spent the day at the nature park and this was a highlight of our trip to Chiang Mai. I hope I will have a chance to go back there again some day.



To learn more about the elephants visit the website: http://www.elephantnaturepark.org