Day 28: Elephant Nature Park, Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand
We thought we were safe behind the 3 foot cement pillars with a 2 foot gap, which is too small for an adult elephant, but as we found out, it is just right for a baby elephant to squeeze through. We were about 5 feet away when the baby breaks through and heads toward us.
Earlier, we had seen how protective the adult elephants can be. A truck spooked another baby elephant, she trumpeted at the offending truck, and immediately three VERY large adult elephants surrounded the baby. No one was getting though.
For us, we quickly backed away and I was checking the nearby adults – who fortunately didn’t seem concerned. Then we see where she is headed, to the stash of watermelons – the same ones we had unloaded by hand earlier that morning. The mahout finally comes on the scene, but not before she scampers away with a juicy watermelon in her trunk.
I think the adults may have seen this before. Then, as we start to move again, the other baby elephant gets the same idea and comes around the corner. Now we realize we are between her and the watermelons, so we bail out the other side. Whew! Tragedy avoided.
So that ended our first full day of volunteering. In the morning we broke up into groups and our group picked up woody debris next to the river, while the other group started washing down the outside of buildings that still had a 3 foot mud line from the flood. It is hard to imagine that this place was green, flat, and lush with plants. Right now, it is a large muddy area with enormous mounds of dirt 10-15 feet high. They have just started to open back up. We are the first full week of volunteers living on-site and it is hard to guess when things will be back to normal. There is so much dirt to move – somewhere.
After cleaning, we think we have a short break, but no, there is a large truck that has those watermelons to be unloaded. An hour and half later, with over 20 people working on it – we finally get it done. We are all a bit sore and I start thinking that Thai massage provided on-site might be good tonight.
In the afternoon, we go on our elephant walk to meet the rest of the herd. Siri and I are so glad we had the earlier, more intimate experience at BLES three weeks ago. It is hard not to compare. An elephant walk at BLES meant we would walk into the jungle, find where the elephants were foraging and just sit and watch. Here there are 10 times more elephants (112) on less space. It is so much better than being ridden in a trekking camp, or being chained into a small enclosure, or worse, but it isn’t free reign out in the forest.
It is still amazing to be able to walk by these enormous creatures as they just saunter by you to get to the river or to their next meal. Right now, I am writing this just watching them 20 feet away eating their dinner. And then there were also those babies that made it more interesting as we scampered away.
We are glad to be here, because this is one of those groundbreaking sites that has helped upend what we think we should do with or for elephants. It is also true that others, who have much smaller elephant numbers – like 2 to 12 – can provide an even more natural and unrestricted environment. I believe both have their place.
Oh, and then there are the dogs. About 800 of them are here as well. And the 3,000 cats too. And the water Buffalo. Most dogs have been rescued from puppy mills or from the illegal dog meat market. We got to play with the smaller ones and later walk a few of the injured ones (most often from car injuries). It does seem if you are an animal lover, you don’t just stop at elephants.
Tomorrow, we get to scoop elephant poop and continue cleaning up the park…and I’m sure there will be more elephant sightings too.
Siri and David Adventures 