Over the past few years I have managed to gather a long list of people that I find to be enormously inspirational. Among these people is a woman who cares for enormously large animals.
When in Thailand, it is only proper to have some sort of “elephant experience”, right? So while most tourists were baking in the sun, sitting in pairs on benches balanced on elephants backs, trumping through the jungle, we were splashing in the water alongside these creatures, feeding them, and watching the youngest run around excitedly. Sounds like some exciting tourist attraction, doesn’t it?
My family and I had our “elephant experience” at an elephant sanctuary tucked into the mountains. Though it neighbored many other elephant tourist attractions, this sanctuary is nothing similar to elephant parks surrounding it. The sanctuary is not meant to be a tourist attraction (although the tourist dollar is clearing keeping it up and running), but rather a safe and happy home for the animals living there, and an educational facility. The purpose of this refuge, Elephant Nature Park, is not much unlike that of the wolf sanctuary I spent time living at back in Colorado. Elephant Nature Park (ENP) was started just over ten years ago by a woman named Sangduen Chailert, who is known as ‘Lek’, which translates to “small one”. Small she is, just barely matching my 5′ 1″ frame, but her vision and the animals it supports is beyond what could be captured in a body size.
Lek’s refuge is currently home to 35 elephants. Many of these elephants were captured at a young age, and forced into submission through brutal abuse which is considered, “training”. Many have disturbing histories in the logging business or begging on the streets of Bangkok, and have suffered from a large array of injuries. At ENP, they are safe, healthy, happy, and have a home for the rest of their lives.
There are 70 staff at ENP plus hundreds of visitors and volunteers that come through every day. Visitors help feed and wash the giants, while volunteers sort out fruits, mix up mud, and shovel poo all day. But even with this much help, there is still room at the sanctuary for 30 more elephants, and more is always needed. Lek’s motto is ‘love’, and it is the foundation and life source of her dedication to these animals. She hopes to spread it as far and wide as possible, so that one day, these animals might have a safe place to live in the wild. She also understands the historical and cultural significance of the elephant in her country, and that working elephants and tourism are important. So she aims to support non-abusive elephant tourism, and to educate both locals and foreigners alike of the severity of their situation.
As expected, I quickly fell in love with the sanctuary and Lek’s devotion to the majestic creatures. Though I would have loved to spend more time speaking with her and working with the elephants, I left her with a promise of return, a big smile, and a heart full of love.
Here’s some photos from our visit:
Meet 3 week old Dok Mai and her mother. Dok Mai is the Thai word for “flower”, but Dok Mai is rambunctious and curious and appears to be a handful at just three weeks.
Lucky seemed to enjoy a much needed bath in the river.
Feeding 90 year old Mae Perm, Lek’s first rescued elephant that she claims is the kindest elephant on earth.
Dok Mai playing with her mahout. Mahouts are traditionally Thai boys and men that ride and control elephants. One mahout may spend his whole life with one elephant. At ENP, mahouts still spend each day with their elephants, feeding and bathing them, but they do not use traditional torture methods to train and control the elephants. Instead, they use a tool called love.
Mom saying hello to Medo. Medo’s strange posture is due to a broken ankle and broken hips that were injured many years ago, and improperly treated for healing. After breaking her ankle in a logging accident, unable to work, her owners chained her and found a large male to breed her. The male ended up dislocating her hips. Years later, she was still hauling whatever small logs she was capable of, when Lek’s team found her. Doctors say she no longer suffers any pain from her injuries, and she is lucky to have been found by Lek.
Jack, taking a break from tossing buckets of river water at Lucky, a blind elephant.
Dad, feeding a bundle of bananas to Lucky.
Family portrait taken in front of 6 month old Navaan, feeding from his mother, encircled and protected by the rest of his herd.
If you are interested in reading more about Elephant Nature Park, here are the links to the sanctuary’s Facebook page and website:
https://www.facebook.com/TheElephantNaturePark?fref=ts
http://www.elephantnaturepark.org/
