Perks on Earth

I have grown up in a house which offers subtle but constant reminders of my father’s favourite animals, elephants. With paintings, statues, and (probably near 100) wooden elephants hidden in every nook and cranny, their presence is hard to miss. Having been lucky enough to witness wild elephants at Amboseli national park in Kenya before, the majestic beauty of these animals has always enchanted and amazed me.  

However, I have long been a sceptic of wildlife tourism. An often unethical practise, I am careful to read and educate myself on any domesticated animals I visit. Before this trip, I had read extensively about the Elephant Nature Park in Chaing Mai, and the amazing work that is being done there to rescue Asian elephants. However, I had never heard of a small sanctuary, founded on the same principals of the Elephant Nature Park, here in Phuket. Trusting numerous recommendations (and my love of elephants) Dara and I headed to Phuket Elephant Sanctuary, founded in 2016 and dubbing itself Phuket’s ‘first and only ethical’ sanctuary. After spending half a day among these gentle giants and their inspiring keepers, it’s safe to say I have no regrets and will be passing on every recommendation to visit the sanctuary.

Phuket Elephant Sanctuary was founded by Mr Montri Todtane, a former employee of the tourist elephant riding industry, who was exposed to the realities faced by these elephants, and their chances of a better life when he visited the Chaing Mai Elephant Nature Park. Here, he witnessed the possibilities to offer Elephants who had worked in the tourism and logging industries in Thailand a chance of a happier life. Beginning this journey in 2016, the park currently is home to 11 rescued elephants, the most recent of which is the parks second male, Joe Thong, who arrived two weeks ago after his 68 years of life spent working in strenuous logging camps around Thailand.

Upon arrival at the sanctuary, we were offered a beautiful breakfast before meeting the tour guides, who introduced us to the sanctuary. We were educated on the realities of elephant domestication in Thailand, and the harsh and often cruel measures inflicted on these gentle giants to tame them, involving long periods of torture in order to ‘break their will’. I found myself holding back tears as we were confronted by the disturbing actuality faced by so many of these animals. The Elephant Sanctuary outlined how their approach is completely different, having rescued their elephants from these conditions and offering them a chance to live happily away from the cruelties inflicted on them, not forced to perform in any way. We were given the chance to offer the elephants who were interested some fruit, and one of the friendliest elephants, Kannika, who was rescued in 2016, was happy to devour the melons and bananas we offered (elephants need to eat about 10% of their bodyweight every day!). The visit then consisted of walking around the Sanctuary with a guide, both on the ground and on their canopy walkway, in the hopes of seeing each of the elephants. I found my heart re-breaking each time we were told about the pasts of each of these elephants, who had greatly suffered-, carrying tourists for 10 hours each day, performing in shows, being overworked in logging sites, or Sai Tong, who was rescued after years of being chained to a tree where tourists were asked to pay to feed or water her. The upsetting reality of what these animals had lived through was only made bearable by seeing their current state- content and extremely well looked after my their Mahoots in their new home.

The life of the Mahoot was something I had read about before visiting the sanctuary and continues to inspire me. Mahoots, or elephant keepers, devout their lives to the elephants, walking with them throughout the days and sleeping at the sanctuary with them each night. From exploring the park, it was clear to see the close bonds between Mahoot and elephant through their easy body language and understanding. An area which shows the human kindness and love for the animal, and the love of the animal in return, regardless of the hardships humans inflicted in the past.

A word of mention has to go to the star of the show- the elephants themselves. Gentle Giants is an incredible description and rang in my mind as we watched them gracefully wander at their own ease through the sanctuary grounds. Today, I found something emotive in their presence, as if they carried their pasts with them, their pain held in their aura. Torn between laughter and tears we followed their paths with our guide. Today’s experience has sparked a deeper love and curiosity about these animals in me, as I have jotted down another bucket list item- to stay in Sangduen Lek Chailert’s Elephant Nature Park in Chaing Mai, a haven to over 100 rescued Asian elephants. Let’s see if I can tick it off in the coming weeks or months!

In a nutshell, today’s visit to the elephant sanctuary was educational, upsetting, thought-provoking and inspiring. No elephant riding, swimming, or heavy interaction was allowed which meant we had the unique opportunity to witness the elephants roaming freely after years of unnatural labour, doing what they please all day- which is mostly eat! I really felt the dedication of the staff there, and our guide Trua was amazing and knew each of the elephants inside out. An amazing day and an experience I will continue to cherish going forward- hopefully into the hills of Chaing Mai!