Visiting elephants in Thailand is one of the experiences on most travellers bucket lists. For me, it was definitely up there in the top 5, but for me the experience of slowly trudging through the Thai jungle atop a seat on the back of an elephant was definitely not what I wanted.
Why not? It’s quite simple really. An elephants spine is simply not resigned to support the weight of people. Carrying people on their backs, day in day out will cause permanent spinal issues for an animal that can potentially live for 100 years. Imagine carrying a 60kg backpack for 8 or 9 hours a day, every day, for the rest of your life.
Imagine wherever you walk, whenever you walk having this backpack on. Imagine the damage this would do over a long period, or even a week. It is no different for elephants.
The seat or Howdah that you sit on for your ride with the elephants rubs their back, causing blisters that can get infected without proper treatment in the jungle, added to additional wear and tear on their sensitive feet. It is no different to the inhumane people who drag elephants through busy streets with bullock hooks to get a small amount of money for you to feed an elephant. Their feet are not designed to be walking on concrete and bitumen. Read more about Elephant abuse in Thailand.
With all of this in mind, I looked for an ethical solution. Being able to see elephants, have an experience with them where the elephants were not abused for entertainment or money. The Elephant Jungle Paradise Park in Chiang Mai offer such a solution. They rescue elephants from situations listed above, and move them into camps in the mountains where they can live out their lives in natural surroundings, without suffering. They are cared for by mahouts who live in the camps.
Think before you go for your elephant experience in Thailand, respect your environment and respect the creatures in it.
What you get when you book a tour with The Elephant Jungle Paradise Park is quite simple, you are going to one of the elephant camps and fitting into the daily routine of the elephants. You feed them, mud bath them and wash them off in the wall falls. You are providing a service to the care and consideration of the animals.
They are not forced to perform for your entertainment. You have the opportunity to experience the real day in the life of an elephant in nature.
Elephant Jungle Paradise Park Chiang Mai or their website on www.e-junglepark.com
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