The Elephant Sanctuary

Since going to the elephant sanctuary... I seem to not be able to think or speak about anything other than elephants. I think I am driving Jeremy mad... but honestly it was such an eye opening experience.


The sanctuary has been set up by an inspiring and passionate Thai women called Lek. She is desperately trying to rescue the elephants from the cruelty that they are enduring due to the tourist trade... and her dream is for tourism to continue..but for people to come and see the elephants in their natural habitat..instead of riding them in the streets of Bangkok...or around some little backyard for the eager tourist that wants to get his photogragh. The species is dying out at such a rapid rate- they dont think Thailand will have any left in a matter of decades.

Lek buys the damaged elephants from their owners and then brings them to the sanctuary which acts as a kind of refuge and new home for the creatures. Many of these elephants have to be treated for depression because they have been seperated from their mothers, many are disabled from broken backs which have been caused from continually carrying tourist after tourist...many have broken legs from logging... some have only got half a limb because the other half has been blown off from exploding mines. Honestly it was such an incredible moving day- I had no idea how sensitive and intelligent these creatures are and how in so many ways they are like human beings.

DID YOU KNOW???

* When an elephant finds a dead elephant in the wild it will cover the body with twigs and branches. The herd will then gather around the corpse and have a funeral- aparently even the children will stop playing and will join in for the ceremony.

*When a baby elephant is born ( after a 24 month pregnancy) the herd will gather around and scream with excitement. The female elephants known as "aunties" will then let the mother rest and will become like the adopted mums off the baby elephant.They often become so emotionally tied to the child that they will even produce milk in their own breasts so that they can also feed the baby.

* Elephants go through all the growing up stages that humans do. They are playful children, bolshi teenagers.... and then.... when they are in their early twenties - when they start growing their reverred tusks- the bachelor boys who have become ( a bit too cool for school) break off from the herd to be with each other..... and spend most of their time trying to get down to action with the pretty female elephants....before returning back...afew years later to the herd.

* A female elephant up until recently has always sought after the male elephant with the long tusks in hope that her baby will inherit the tusks. (Tusks are reverred in the elephant world and the male elephants become extremely proud of them) So when an elephants tusks are sawn off by poaches.... it results in severe depression. A male elephant will lose huge amounts of confidence.... and his position in the hierarchy of the group will be diminished. But in recent years things have changed- the female elephants have become so wise and intuitive.. that they recognise that having tusks can lead to tragic endings... -Thus in recent years.. researchers have discovered that the female elephant now opts for the mate that does not have tusks.

I could go on and on. There are so many remarkable things I found out about these animals. Such a brilliant day of awareness.