Thailand’s national animal is the elephant - symbolic of the country, and formerly on the flag, it even has a beer named after it. And surely there is no higher accolade? But Thailand’s elephants are under threat - after the logging industry was banned in 1989 as part of the action on global warming, the trade for which these creatures had been bred disappeared, and the elephant became a very expensive pet, or was released into the wild with no ability to fend for itself. Elephants can still be seen wandering the streets in Bangkok with their Mahouts (handlers) selling bananas to feed to the elephant as a way for both elephant and Mahout to survive. A mahout looks after an elephant its whole life, and often Fathers will train sons so that the elephant always has a consistent owner, so it’s a very strong bond.
There are a number of Elephant parks for domesticated elephants in Thailand, of which the Thailand Elephant Conservation Centre is the biggest, and perhaps the most important. There are about 50 elephants here, including 16 sick elephants and 6 of the 10 Royal Elephants (Useless fact: the term ‘White Elephant’ originates from Thailand - all albino or very pale elephants automatically became owned by the King, but had to be cared for by the original owner and yet were not allowed to work - so they became expensive but useless objects). The site here is huge - it has to be, as it takes in any elephants that are given to them, which includes those who are badly injured - there’s a large elephant hospital on site which has cured some terrible injuries and looks after those elephants who will need daily treatment for the rest of their lives, for example because they have trodden on a landmine. The hospital has also pioneered an artificial insemination programme designed at reducing the in-breeding that was happening within the elephant parks - the first Asian elephant to be born due to artifical insemination was born here in March 2007 and is imaginatively called A.I
In order to pay for the upkeep of the elephants, the centre runs a series of tourist events: Elephant riding, elephant shows, and Mahout training. I opted to take the 3 day Mahout training programme. Also on the course were an Australian family - Lilian & Mark and their daughters Catherine & Alissa, Lana & Perrine, two girls also from Oz, and Lee & Sarah from the UK (who have just got engaged) We were all staying in a Homestay at the centre, where you’re living in the Mahout’s houses.
My elephant for the 3 days was called Wanalee (no, not Wanadoo!) - she is 11 years old and was born here at the park. Her mother is also still employed here, giving rides to the public. Wanalee means ‘Princess of the Forest’ and she was named and adopted by the King’s sister. She’s a very popular little elephant, and very happy, because she flaps her ears ALL the time. Wanalee’s Mahout, and my trainer for the 3 days was Tiam, who was also pretty mischievous, so they were well suited! Tiam has looked after Wanalee since she was 15 days old.
Straightaway, we had to practice ready for the day’s show, so in the first 15 minutes, we had to learn to get on and off from the side, over the top of the head, jump off as she was lying down, and ask her to pick things up! Now, I’m not the most elegant of girls at the best of times, and Wanalee was a bit half-hearted at (literally) giving me a leg up, so it took quite an effort for me to jump up onto her head from the side - my preferred method was the leapfrog over the head - much more fun.
I was then told that Wanalee did a special trick in the show - I had to stand in the middle, and she would pick a hat up off the floor and put it on my head, after which we would both do a bow. Easy enough.
Next we trotted off to the bathing area. Lots of tourists come to watch the elephants bathing, so we were quite the floor show. Still on the elephant’s head, we waded into the water. Most elephants sat on their haaunches and allowed their mahouts & trainee mahouts to scoop water over their heads. Wannalee however is a bit of a water-baby and likes to immerse herself fully under the water. Yes, with me still sat on her head. I ended up with water up to my waist!! After a bit of a dunking, there’s then usually a bit of a water fight, with ‘bon bon’ meaning squirt. I managed to get Wannalee to squirt another elephant on the first day, but since then she’s been more interested in squirting me. Naughty girl. Since then, I have managed to learn how to stand on her head to not get quite so wet!
Then it’s off to the show. I have to say I was a little dubious about the shows at first - I really don’t like the idea of these beautiful creatures being made to perform as though they’re in a zoo. But on the other hand, this is about preserving the domestic animals and educating the public to the plight of the former working animals. The show begins with the elephants making their way to the showground - Wanalee beats a drum at the front. We then do a short parade, and a demonstration of our skills. Then it was time for me & Wanalee’s act. Just as Wannalee was putting the hat on me, Jo-Jo, the biggest elephant used, and ridden by Lee, squirted me, much to the hilarity of everyone else, who’d been let into the secret…..being drenched has been a bit of a theme!!
More tricks followed - some elephants do painting, or do logging demonstrations to show the role the animals used to play, Wanalee plays some chime bars again, then it’s feeding time, where the audience can feed the elephants sugar cane & bananas. Elephants consume 10% of their bodyweight a day, so this is always popular, and if an elephant is feeling quite full but they don’t want to say no, they just hand the sugar cane up to us as a snack for later. One of the tourists asked if Alissa was my sister, which was very flattering, as she’s only just 9! So Alissa, Catherine & I became sisters for the rest of the trip - Extra Small, Extra Medium and Extra Tall! (The one & only time in my life I’ll be considered extra tall I suspect…) Someone also asked if I was an elephant researcher - it seemed as though they were as fascinated by us as the elephants!!
Last session of the day was to ride the elephants up into the jungle where they spend the night. This was my favourite part - we walked up and down hills, stopped for a drink of water, and tied her up for the night when she wished us good night with a few huffs and puffs.
I was so exhausted after the day that I went to bed at 7. How mortifying. I also felt like I had ‘elephant legs’ (No rude comments about my thighs please!) as it felt like I was still sat on her head!!
In the mornings, we were up at 6, ready to walk up to collect the elephants for the day. We first collected some sugar cane snacks for them. When we got to the jungle, she was just stood there patiently waiting for us. I felt my heart clench. She’s so beautiful. She had her sugar cane snack, then she re-familiarised herself with me by giving me a thorough examination with her trunk, then we rode down for the morning dip. Once again, my water-baby decide to go for the full submersion. Drenched already and it was only 7.30!!
After a quick game of football, (Wanalee is a great player, and becomes conveniently deaf when called away), we went to visit the nursery and the hospital. There are currently 3 babies in the nursery (with at least another 2 on the way) - AI who is about 21 months, Seven (born on 07/07/07) and a tiny 1 month old baby who is here temporarily as his Mother is sick. Babies usually stay in the nursery until they are 4 years old, when they become part of the shows. It only takes 1 month to train them, which amazed me.
The hospital currently has 16 patients, many of whom are permanent. Their injuries range from abscesses and sunburn to landmine and shotgun wounds. No elephants are put down if they can be saved. Many elephants are also brought here for treatment for trauma sustained by carrying too many tourists in the chairs on the back with too thin a cushion - so if you go elephant riding, please check the thickness of the cushion.
Occasionally wild elephants are brought in, but the centre mainly cares for domestic animals. Wild creatures are only brought in when they’re really on their last legs, otherwise vets can’t get near them - domestic animals are used to human interraction.
I’ve had the most amazing time here - spending such a large amount of time with my favourite animal, being so close and getting to know all their personalities, has probably been the best thing I’ve ever done. I had a bit of a lump in my throat when I left, and I’m half tempted to come back again in February…
And here are my photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/Clairestravels/ThailandElephantConservationCentre
Be warned, there are 250, mostly of me on an elephant.....
