This experience has been one of the most educational, spiritual and inspiring moments so far in our trip to Thailand. To begin with, Shaunna has wanted to see baby elephants since we started planning our trip here. Like many other first-timers, I didn't know much about the elephant parks available to tourists in Thailand. I'd seen pictures of people riding elephants and elephants doing silly circus tricks, but I wasn't sure where we'd get to see elephants up close.

After doing some research, Shaunna came across this site:
http://www.thaifocus.com/elephant/

What impressed us the most about this park is that the elephants exist in a "free range" environment where they don't have to do silly tricks or shows. I don't like zoos much (unless the pens are large and spacious), and I really detest the circus. When I was kid I thought the circus was sooo cool. Then one day I got to see the animals in their cages backstage. Watching an elephant walk around in its own shit and swing its head in a dreary state of depression really made me reconsider. It looked so sad all chained up and forced to chew on dry hay.

We booked our day trip through a local travel agency here in Chiang Mai, and we caught our van early in the morning. Our adventure started with a quick trip to the day market where we proceeded to buy bananas and papayas for the elephants. We filled up an entire truck full of the goodies for the family of elephants we were going to visit:
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Afterwards, we hopped in our van and drove an hour north back towards Chiang Dao. I was feeling pretty drowsy and a bit car sick, so I fell in and out of consciousness all the way there. Once we turned off of the highway, we climbed way up into the mountains and drove past three "traditional" elephant camps.

These camps are a major source of money for local Thai villages, and tourists flock to them all year long (except the rainy season, of course). The unfortunate living conditions of these creatures isn't seen by many tourists (just like the conditions of the elephants in the circus). They are chained up in their little area, and they are tended to by mahouts, which is a lifelong human owner that takes care of the animal, directs it, and teaches it to do tricks. The relationship between the mahout and the elephant is a special kind of relationship that has a long history in Thailand.

Thailand was literally built by elephants. All of the original buildings, logging, and construction was made through the use of elephants as pack animals. In times of war, the elephant was the number one method of transport and combat. The driver is the mahout. As such, their is a great deal of reverence that Thai people have for the elephant symbol. But the elephants themselves are poorly treated.

Awhile back the Thailand government banned all logging in major forests, which essentially put the elephants out of work. In order to keep elephant populations, they have to work for food. This is how the elephant camps came about. Those that don't work in camps either work in the cities as tourist attractions (doing silly tricks), are pets for rich Thai people, or are left to wander around on their own in the forest (where they usually die... imagine letting your dog or horse out on his own... his chances of survival are slim).

As a result, the elephant population in Thailand has dwindled. At one time the domestic and wild populations of elephants in Thailand was predicted to be over 100,000. In the late 80s, it was 25,000. Now predictions are that fewer than 5,000 elephants live in Thailand.

Anyhow, this particular camp is owned and managed by a Thai woman named Lek. She is somewhat of an international celebrity due to her work with rescuing mistreated or sick elephants. Meg Ryan visited the camp awhile back (which brought some attention to Lek), and the National Geographic channel did a documentary on her for their Living Wild show called "Vanishing Giants".

I didn't know any of this prior to visiting the camp.

We drove another 30 minutes into the jungle and turned off onto a large piece of property that is nestled in between a ring of low-lying mountains. All around were bamboo huts and wood houses on stilts. In between these areas where large pastures with elephants wandering around grazing and playing (yes, playing!) It was so surreal.

We were immediately greeted by the elephants, who knew we were bringing bananas and papayas. The truck with the food hadn't arrived yet, so we had some lunch of our own, which was surprisingly good.

As soon as the truck arrived, the people running the camp this day (Michelle and Dasha) asked us to feed the elephants and introduce ourselves:

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Once we got a chance to pet and feed the elephants, we were given a brief introduction about the purpose of the camp.

To begin, this was not a high-budget operation. It was obvious that the only funding that the park recieves is through contributions (which are not tax deductible) and tours. Volunteers are allowed to purchase time at the camp, where they can work with elephants, learn to treat elephants (as veterinarians - my brother Aaron would love this place), and help the cause.

Lek started her work as an effort to prevent cruelty to elephants in Thailand. There is an age-old process in Thailand to train an elephant that literally involves physical torture and pain. The shaman and elders believe that in order for an elephant to be obediant and work properly, its spirit must be broken. This is somewhat similar to breaking a horse (saddle-training), but the horse has it good compared to the elephants in Thailand.

The young elephants are lured into a small wooden cage called a crush, where they are trapped, chained and brutally beaten. The trainers have large sticks with hooks on the end and poles with nails on the end, which they use to poke, prod, stab, and beat the elephant until it learns to follow simple commands (like lifting its leg to put in shackles or turn left / right). They also use heavy clubs to beat the elephant's trunk, knees, and butt whenever it resists the physical treatment. If the elephant is still resistant, they will poke and stab it in it's eyes and inner ears.

The entire process usually last 3 to 5 days, and it goes 24 hours - all through the night - until the elephant collapses and gives in. Some elephants don't make it. They either die of their wounds or (get this!) they commit suicide by stepping on their trunks and holding their breath.

The elephants that survive are scarred for life. As the old saying goes, an elephant has an incredible memory and a conscience just like a human. As the abuse of the elephant increases throughout its life, it develops emotional and psychological problems that make it a danger to everyone around it. There are many stories of elephants reaching the breaking point and going on a rampage. They end up killing their mahouts and anyone else in the area. Eventually, they have to be shot.

I was totally skeptical at first when I heard about this. We later saw a video that Lek and the National Geographic society filmed which shows the process from beginning to end. I was totally appalled, and I felt very teary-eyed when I watched it. The elephants were crying and screaming throughout the entire thing. Aweful.

Lek fell in love with elephants at a young age and dedicated her life to rescuing and treating elephants. She even has a veterinary service that provides free treatment to domestic elephants in the area. Her lifelong dream is to change the traditions in Thailand (and the rest of Asia) so that humane training procedures become the norm. So far, she's doing a good job, although there is a huge amount of resistance in Thailand alone... long story.

The elephants at this camp are rescued elephants that Lek has found and purchased from their greedy owners. Within a few months, the elephants make an amazing recovery. She trains them (using positive reinforcement) and rehabilitates them.

Anyhow, after feeding and petting the elephants, we were led to a nearby river. The elephants got into the river, and we were given the opportunity to bathe them and play with them in the water:
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After we cleaned them, we were given an opportunity to ride the elephants - without a saddle, without reigns... just climb on and ride. Shaunna's elephant was HUGE!
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First off, I'm not keen on riding wild animals... I'm not exactly the lightest kid on the block, and I don't care for heights much. But one of the American volunteers was very persistent and wouldn't leave me alone until I got on. Mine was a fat "white elephant"... the irony is rich...
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After riding the elephants around the grounds, we were led back to camp and given some time to walk around. We were introduced to a variety of elephants with amazing stories:

This one particular female elephant was resistant to the training process. The owners used to poke her in the eyes with the sticks (with nails) until she finally went blind. This poor blind elephant (which couldn't work) was left to starve and die. It lost nearly all its weight and was emaciated before some people noticed it. Lek was called in to rescue the elephant, and she brought it back to camp. After a few days, another female elephant in the camp instantly took a liking to it and decided to devote itself to caring for it. The relationship between these two elephants was so sweet and tender (it made us cry). The one that could see would lead the blind one around, caress it, and protect it from the bull elephants.

The blind elephant:
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The blind elephant being caressed and cared for by the other elephant:
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Here they are enjoying some shade together:
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Another massive male, named Max, was very tall. It was used to entertain tourists in Phuket until it killed a mahout. The owners beat it and starved it until it couldn't work. Lek was given money to purchase the elephant and brought it back to the camp. At first it was scared of all the elephants in camp. Then it went through a hormonal period called must, which is sorta like PMS for male elephants. It's a long process (sometimes 4 years) where it emits hormones out of temporal glands. It becomes very aggressive and kills any other elephant or human that comes its way (but it doesn't mess with dogs or cats... kinda wierd).

Anyhow, Max was chained up in his own area. He had killed many other mahouts but suddenly took a liking to an Australian volunteer, named Carl, who has lived at the camp for a year and a half. Carl is the only one who can feed Max or clean his area. Whenever Carl comes around, Max will run up (like a puppy) and get excited. It is very sweet. Here's Max:

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After about five hours of playing with and learning about the elephants, we were led to a room where we watched the aforementioned video. Lek, unfortunately, was out of the country in India looking at elephants and pushing her cause. We learned a little about some of the political pressures that surround the camp.

When Lek filmed the traditional training process, PETA came to Thailand and wanted to witness it, perhaps to help Lek's cause. When they saw the video, they were outraged. They held a massive conference in Bangkok and invited government officials, elephant trainers, and many other Thai people to watch this video. Naturally, the people were not happy. In Thailand, it is extremely socially awkward to make a Thai "lose face" - thus you can never get mad, lose your temper or do anything that would make them feel socially awkward.

When PETA saw the resistance to their efforts, they denounced the Thai government and called for an international ban on tourism to Thailand. This only made the situation much, much worse - particularly for Lek. Many Thai newspapers ran scandalous stories against her, and some traditional elephant trainers conspired against her - eventually having her favorite elephant (Keng Mai) poisoned.

These stories were so horrific. In the long run, however, Lek has done alot of political work and brought out alot of celebrities that support her. To make a long story short, she is now regarded as one of the leading experts in elephants.

We spent the rest of the day sharing some really special moments with the elephants. We were teary-eyed many times. It sounds silly, perhaps, but we really witnessed how intelligent and wonderful they are. When we eventually left, the volunteers were taking the elephants to their respective sleeping areas and spending time with their elephants before it got dark.

We got back to the hotel covered in dirt, sweat, and tears. I highly recommend this park to anyone that comes to Northern Thailand. Truly amazing!