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Elephant Nature Park - Chiang Mai
Thailand’s Elephant Attractions: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly!
When the rose tinted spectacles cracked…
Like the thousands of people who flock to Thailand each year, prior to my departure I had been desperate to ride an elephant, or watch a show where these magnificent animals display talents such as painting, drawing or playing a musical instrument. Many tour operators offer these ‘once in life time’ trips with the additions of jungle trekking, bathing the elephants and feeding them. Who wouldn’t want to be up close and personal to such a beauty? Who wouldn’t want to enjoy the breath-taking beauty of rural Chiang Mai, whilst ‘trekking’ through the jungle sitting on an animal?
My excitement quickly turned to disappointment when Joe told me he would not ride and elephant. No matter how much I tried to persuade him this is something which he was adamant about. Not to be deterred I carried on searching through elephant attractions and that is when I stumbled upon Elephant Nature Park. Unlike other attractions, you were not allowed to ride the elephants, but you could still interact with them. Perfect! A happy medium had been reached.
Admittedly, I had been completely naïve to believe the elephants quite happily allowed humans to ride them. I had been captivated by the propaganda used in the tourism sector: the posters, the photographs, the adverts and reviews written by fellow travellers. I wanted to see elephants walking through the streets – just like I had seen on television. Before the trip I’d never really thought about how these attractions had managed to tame an animal which naturally would live out in the wild.
What I learned that day not only changed my perception of elephant attractions, but any attractions which involve using animals.
My excitement quickly turned to disappointment when Joe told me he would not ride and elephant. No matter how much I tried to persuade him this is something which he was adamant about. Not to be deterred I carried on searching through elephant attractions and that is when I stumbled upon Elephant Nature Park. Unlike other attractions, you were not allowed to ride the elephants, but you could still interact with them. Perfect! A happy medium had been reached.
Admittedly, I had been completely naïve to believe the elephants quite happily allowed humans to ride them. I had been captivated by the propaganda used in the tourism sector: the posters, the photographs, the adverts and reviews written by fellow travellers. I wanted to see elephants walking through the streets – just like I had seen on television. Before the trip I’d never really thought about how these attractions had managed to tame an animal which naturally would live out in the wild.
What I learned that day not only changed my perception of elephant attractions, but any attractions which involve using animals.
Travelling to the park
At 8am we were collected from our hotel in Chiang Mai and driven 60km through the most beautiful rural sites to the nature park. The drive was roughly an hour long, but it felt a lot quicker as the driver played a documentary about elephants. Here I learned the true horror of what elephants have to endure to become submissive; the pain and suffering they go through to allow humans to ride them is sickening. How do the elephants become submissive? Well, we’ve probably all watched films were prisoners are forced into a confession through hours of endless torture (remind yourself of the opening to Slum Dog Millionaire…) This is what happens to the elephants.
The documentary showed how in one village the elephant was confined to a small cage with no room to move, no chance to sleep, no opportunity to rest and no food or drink. Trapped. What followed completely shocked me. For a whole week the elephant was subject to torture. Constant torture. Hammers, nails, whips, kicks and punches rained down on the creature. Even when it cried out in agony and was bleeding the abuse would continue. When did it stop? Only when the animal had become submissive and did exactly what the trainers wanted. This happens all over Thailand, and I’m sure it is not isolated to this country.
One particular heart-breaking story was that of Jokia who was used in the logging industry. Jokia suffered lots of trauma – including losing her baby - and was blinded by her master. Fortunately, the story does have a happy ending, as Jokia was rescued by Lek. After moving to the nature park Jokia developed a friendship with another elephant Mae Perm, who was the first elephant to be rescued by Lek, and they have been friends for over 10 years.
Now when I see people riding elephants, or elephants walking through the streets it makes me squirm knowing what it has suffered to allow itself to become an ‘attraction’ and a photo opportunity for an unknowing tourist.
The documentary showed how in one village the elephant was confined to a small cage with no room to move, no chance to sleep, no opportunity to rest and no food or drink. Trapped. What followed completely shocked me. For a whole week the elephant was subject to torture. Constant torture. Hammers, nails, whips, kicks and punches rained down on the creature. Even when it cried out in agony and was bleeding the abuse would continue. When did it stop? Only when the animal had become submissive and did exactly what the trainers wanted. This happens all over Thailand, and I’m sure it is not isolated to this country.
One particular heart-breaking story was that of Jokia who was used in the logging industry. Jokia suffered lots of trauma – including losing her baby - and was blinded by her master. Fortunately, the story does have a happy ending, as Jokia was rescued by Lek. After moving to the nature park Jokia developed a friendship with another elephant Mae Perm, who was the first elephant to be rescued by Lek, and they have been friends for over 10 years.
Now when I see people riding elephants, or elephants walking through the streets it makes me squirm knowing what it has suffered to allow itself to become an ‘attraction’ and a photo opportunity for an unknowing tourist.
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How is Elephant Nature Park different to the rest? Well, the park was set up by Lek to rescue and rehabilitate elephants across Thailand. She has created a stunning space - nestled amongst the mountains of Chiang Mai - which allows the elephants to roam free and live as they would if they were in the wild. Each elephant is assigned a mahout, who looks after them and cares for them.
On arrival we were placed into groups and then went to meet our first elephants. The elephants were happily standing in the field eating the bamboo. The mahout was with the elephant at all times and I did not feel in any danger. We were allowed to stroke the elephant and feed it the bamboo if we wished. Magical.
Following this we then made our way to a platform where we were able to feed the elephants. I was astounded by the amount of food one elephant can consume. It thought nothing of swallowing whole pumpkins and bunches of bananas in one go! Once it had had enough it simply strolled away back into the field; there was no one ordering the elephant around or controlling it. It was free.
Before lunch we walked down to the river and were given the opportunity to bathe the elephants, which was something I had been really excited about. After assigning us elephants to wash (typically there were about 2/3 people bathing one elephant) we were provided with buckets to bathe them. What an experience: the elephants were completely relaxed and content with this. In the past I have seen photographs of humans sitting and standing on the elephants, whilst they are being bathed, but I’m glad to say it does not happen here.
After our Thai buffet lunch we went to watch another documentary; once again it was informative, educational and we learned lots about the past and present life of the elephants at the park.
On arrival we were placed into groups and then went to meet our first elephants. The elephants were happily standing in the field eating the bamboo. The mahout was with the elephant at all times and I did not feel in any danger. We were allowed to stroke the elephant and feed it the bamboo if we wished. Magical.
Following this we then made our way to a platform where we were able to feed the elephants. I was astounded by the amount of food one elephant can consume. It thought nothing of swallowing whole pumpkins and bunches of bananas in one go! Once it had had enough it simply strolled away back into the field; there was no one ordering the elephant around or controlling it. It was free.
Before lunch we walked down to the river and were given the opportunity to bathe the elephants, which was something I had been really excited about. After assigning us elephants to wash (typically there were about 2/3 people bathing one elephant) we were provided with buckets to bathe them. What an experience: the elephants were completely relaxed and content with this. In the past I have seen photographs of humans sitting and standing on the elephants, whilst they are being bathed, but I’m glad to say it does not happen here.
After our Thai buffet lunch we went to watch another documentary; once again it was informative, educational and we learned lots about the past and present life of the elephants at the park.
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The trip ended with us going to a platform and watching the elephants play in the fields. A few weeks before a baby elephant had been born who was incredibly playful and happy. It was amazing to see how it interacted with the older elephants, but also to see how precious the baby was to them. As they walked from the river to the fields the baby was surrounded by the adults and was watched by them at all times.
This day trip was completely worth it. The cost was 2,500 baht, which is approximately £50. The payment goes towards the upkeep of the Nature Park, and ensuring the elephants are well looked after and fed. If you don’t want to visit for a day there are opportunities to volunteer – again this comes at a cost. Since our trip new elephants have been rescued and taken to the park.
If you are ever in Chiang Mai I would definitely recommend a visit to this incredible place.
This day trip was completely worth it. The cost was 2,500 baht, which is approximately £50. The payment goes towards the upkeep of the Nature Park, and ensuring the elephants are well looked after and fed. If you don’t want to visit for a day there are opportunities to volunteer – again this comes at a cost. Since our trip new elephants have been rescued and taken to the park.
If you are ever in Chiang Mai I would definitely recommend a visit to this incredible place.