Thailand and elephants

A lot of people think of beautiful beaches and delicious street food when they think of Thailand. But for me, Thailand will always be elephant sanctuaries and street dogs. (And the best time with my daughters – but that is another blog.). 

I loved the beautiful beaches of Koi Samui and we enjoyed some delicious street food in Chiang Mai. However, I will never ever forget the 2 elephant sanctuaries that I visited. 

Why do I love elephants so much? I really don’t know. There is something so special about animals that are both massive and majestic, but also gentle and mysterious. 

I took a lot of time and care to research elephant sanctuaries that are ethical. Sadly, there are very few of them. And many would argue that no sanctuaries that allow tourists to visit are truly ethical. Elephant tourism is a complicated topic. I included a link to another blog that explains it much better than I. Having said that, I would like to share 2 of them with you. I think both are as ethical as one can hope for.

Elephant Nature Park – Chiang Mai

The Elephant Nature Park is located just outside of Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand. It might be the most well-known in ethical travel circles. Lek Chailert founded ENP in 2003 and it is both a rescue and rehabilitation center. You can enjoy half or full day programs or if you have the time and funds, you can volunteer there for a week. 

“Saengduean Lek Chailert’s passion for elephants began at an early age when her grandfather, a traditional healer, was gifted an elephant named Thong Kham, which Lek grew to love and care for deeply. After witnessing the mistreatment and suffering of many elephants in the tourism industry, Lek began providing medical aid to elephants in remote villages. In the 1990s, Lek started rescuing injured, neglected, and elderly elephants and established Elephant Nature Park in Northern Thailand in 2003 as a permanent homeland for them.” https://www.elephantnaturepark.org/about-us/our-founder/

We did the full day program called the ‘Elephant Highlands’ and it was incredible. It did NOT include a visit to the main sanctuary. Instead we got to spend the day walking in the highlands area with a group of elephants. Then we were able to watch them at their watering hole. We also prepared rice balls and then fed them. Our wonderful guide, Prohm, explained that some elephants were kept in the highlands so they had more room to roam. They also had older elephants, a baby and a few skittish ones who preferred less visitors at the Highlands project. 

We were extremely lucky as it was only the 4 of us that day – a personal tour, if you will. The Highlands tour is less popular apparently but I think people are missing out. The day in the Highlands involves a longer drive, a lot of hiking, some of it very muddy, as well as a longer day overall. However, it also includes more natural interaction with the elephants. We were allowed to follow them to the watering hole and through other wilder, more beautiful areas than the main sanctuary provides. 

We got to know a couple of the elephants’ personalities, especially the 2 that we walked with. Baby June was incredibly mischievous and she obviously had a special relationship with her mahout. The mahouts, or elephant caretakers, have a deep love and respect for the elephants nowadays. (This is a different story from when elephants were largely ‘domesticated’ for the logging industry.) 

It was truly a day filled with so much joy and laughter and awe. We learned a lot about their personalities and personal histories. We enjoyed the most incredible views. And everyone had a huge laugh when June, the baby, grabbed my t-shirt and tried to pull me into the pen as she apparently didn’t believe I was out of rice balls. After a day with them, the strong family ties between the elephants was evident – the matriarch and the ‘aunties’ who looked after June, the mischievous ones and the ones who just wanted to eat and eat and eat. 

Fun fact – elephants need to eat between 150 and 300 kg of food a day. Since they are vegetarians, they may spend up to 18 hours a day fueling their body. 

Samui Elephant Haven – Koh Samui

I had such an incredible day at the Elephant Nature Park that I decided to visit the Samui Elephant Haven as well. (Jordan, Parker and Yumna had left Thailand and returned to Canada.) The more that I travel and the more that I learn, the more intentional I am about how and where I spend my money. I try very hard to make sure my limited spending goes towards local businesses and charities. I have also travelled enough now that I am less drawn to do ‘everything on the list.’ Which is to say, I decided to go to 2 elephant sanctuaries rather than a different new thing. 

And I was thrilled with my decision. Lek and the Elephant Nature Park actually inspired the Samui Elephant Haven. The founder, Maew Suriya, founded the Samui Elephant Haven after meeting Lek when he visited The Elephant Nature Park as a teen-ager.

The mahouts at Samui Elephant Haven were wonderful and my guide, Kamon, was really knowledgeable. It was clear that he not only loved elephants but really cared about helping tourists understand why some elephants cannot be released and even why some are kept separated. He also shared each elephant’s personal history. All were heart breaking but it’s lovely to know their lives are so much better now. I definitely fell in love with Sudarat, the ‘boss’ of Samui Elephant Haven.  

I have been very lucky in my travels to have done a lot of amazing things and I don’t think I could pick a ‘favorite.’ But my visits to the elephant sanctuaries are definitely at the top of my “pinch-me, is this a dream” list. And while I am a fierce advocate for solo travel and I really do love doing things alone, sharing a day with the elephants AND Jordan, Parker and Yumna will be one of most cherished memories for the rest of my days. 

Thailand’s street dogs

And because I love animals so much and had the best time meeting all the street dogs of Samui, please check out some of the incredible organizations that support the street dogs of Thailand. There are some amazing organizations doing wonderful work to address the problem of a growing street dog population, including mass efforts to sterilize as many street dogs as possible, as well as educate the locals. I think you will fall in love with both organizations and their work.

https://www.happydoggo.com/our-story

https://www.instagram.com/robs_dogs/?hl=en

Links to elephant sanctuaries:

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Link to a great blog discussing the ethics of sanctuaries. 

Is That “Ethical” Elephant Sanctuary in Thailand Really Ethical?

Blog explaining how ethical tourism can help the elephants.

How Your Visit to an Ethical Elephant Sanctuary Makes a Real Impact

I hope this is helpful and encourages people to think about how they travel. And if you love elephants as much as I do, I also visited a wonderful place in Kenya. It is called the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Nursery, another amazing organization. Here is the link to that blog.

Kenya – Elephants, Old Friends & Zebra Traffic Jams