This was the day I'd probably been looking forward to more than anything and it didn't disappoint. We took a day trip to the elephant sanctuary which is located up in the mountains 60km north of Chiang Mai.
It has been running since 1995 and at the moment is home to 33 rescued elephants, including 2 babies. Lek - the owner - is an amazing woman who has devoted her life to caring for elephants and being an activist for their humane treatment. This is all in the face of some strong opposition from various authorities who are concerned about the potentially damaging effect negative PR could have on the country's tourism industry.
As well as getting lots of opportunities to get up close with the elephants we learned more about their respective histories - all of which were heartbreaking. They were all previously 'working' elephants and had been badly mistreated. One of them - Lilly - had to be treated for drug addiction as her previous owner gave her amphetamines to enable him to work her harder.
Another - Jokia - was blinded in both eyes. She was already heavily pregnant when she started work as a 'logging' elephant (an industry which has now been made illegal due to the environmental affects). She gave birth whilst working and tragically her calf rolled down the hill and died. Her owner then shot her in the eye blinding her as she had stopped working due to the distress. She was then blinded in her other eye by a subsequent owner for disobedience. Lek came to the rescue and Jokia was quickly adopted by Mae Prem. It was heartwarming to see how they still stuck together.
Despite their religious and cultural importance, in Thailand elephants are classed as livestock. There are no laws to protect them and prevent them from being cruelly exploited. Even killing an elephant would only result in a small fine - and that's only if the police took any action.
Unfortunately campaigners like Lek seem to be in the minority so it's difficult to see how things will improve.
Anyway, enough of the heavy stuff, it's probably sounding like the day was really depressing which isn't the case. My face was actually aching by the end of the day from all the smiling I'd done!!
In the morning and then again in the afternoon we helped to feed and bathe the elephants - it was absolutely fantastic. They are truly amazing creatures and despite their size we never once felt unsafe walking amongst them. And Lucas - I know you were worried but Little Auntie Michelle coped absolutely fine!!
The pics will probably articulate the day far better than I can so here you go. I will just say that that it was an incredible day and I feel privileged to have the chance to visit and meet such an inspiring lady.
Pre-feeding time giddiness!!
Jokia feeding - given her lack of sight she went for a more direct approach!!:
Jokia with adopted 'big sister' Mae Prem:
Lek with Hope. He is her unruly teenager, he's one of only 2 to wear a bell! She rescued him as a 1 week old orphan but they hope eventually he can be released into the wild.
Getting a big kiss from Hope - he properly sucked on my cheek!!
This one has hit the elephant equivalent to the terrible two's!!:
Lek seeing one of the babies off to sleep - she actually sings to them - so cute!
Please let us know if you're unable to view these videos. Unfortunately the pc we're on at the moment doesn't have the right set up for us to check but we hope they should still be viewable from others.
Baby Elephant
Elephant Dust Bath
Lil M Scrubbing
Tall M Washing
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