Welcome to the (elephant) jungle
A new and long-awaited activity has finally begun here at Elephant Nature Park. The different social groups within our herd are taking turns going up to the jungle. The mountainside behind the mahout village is thick with the various jungle…
Elephant Gossip! The latest dish at Elephant Nature Park
There are many social groups within our herd of elephants who reside at Elephant Nature Park. For some, we never know what tomorrow will bring, while others have a rather predictable routine. Read on and you will have a glimpse into their complex relationships …
The art of Touching an Elephant
The majority of us are blessed with the gift of sight. We take it for granted, without thinking how very lucky we are.
Imagine for a moment not being able to see, relying only on hearing and touch. Imagine being born blind, therefore not having any mental images stored for descriptive reference.
Imagine traveling to a foreign land, where your native tongue is not spoken and venturing to a place where elephants roam free and you can experience them up close, learning about them through touch.
Would you be afraid? Would you be excited?
For two years in a row we have had a very special group of teenagers from the Korean Art Association for the Blind who travel all the way from Korea to visit Elephant Nature Park, staying two days. They come from the Chungju Seongmo School for the Blind and their tour is titled “Touching an Elephant.” These students are training to be artists and are learning to ‘see by touch’ so that they can create works of art in various mediums.
Their stay at Elephant Nature Park included the group engaging in feeding the elephants, learning about them and having an up-close experience with Lek and Faa Mai.
Baby elephant Navann’s family reunites
In our last post about Navann and his ever changing line up of doting aunties, Dao Tong had joined the group much to the dismay of Mae Jarunee, who moved off to the sidelines in an act of protest. Faa Mai, Faa Sai, Tong Jaan, even Mae Bua Tong and Chang Yim had been spending lots of time with Navann, causing Mae Keow and Dani to lose their confidence to approach the irresistible young bull. Malai Tong was quite busy between keeping Mae Jarunee company, checking in with Navann and flitting around like the social butterfly that she is catching up with old friends.
What would happen next was anyone’s guess …
Baby Elephant Mama Auntie Drama!
Things have changed yet again since our last update highlighting the Navann auntie situation, the biggest change being that new baby elephant Dok Mai and mum, Dok Ngern, are now also out roaming free all day. As a result of this new development, the junior aunties Faa Mai, Tong Jaan and Faa Sai are much more focused on Dok Mai and rarely wandering over to see Navann.
Dok Mai plays with new aunties Faa Sai, Faa Mai and Tong Jaan
Baby elephant Navann causes auntie controversy
Who will really end up being baby elephant Navann’s aunties at Elephant Nature Park? At this moment it is anyone’s guess …
A few weeks ago we would have felt confident in saying that Mae Kham Paan was the recognized Number One Auntie and that Malai Tong and Mae Jarunee were a firm Number Two and Three. Mae Keow was a definite part-timer and recently Dani was even getting lots of quality time with Navann each morning.
The role of the auntie to a baby elephant
At Elephant Nature Park, we are fortunate to have three sets of mothers and babies. Typically, motherhood ends in heartbreak in the captive elephant world so these unbroken bonds between mom and baby elephant are even more significant and cherished. It is well known that female elephants are incredibly maternal and nurturing calves comes as second nature.
Could baby elephant Navann be most popular at ENP?
Now that baby elephant Navann is out and about all day, every day, things have became much more exciting in the social world here at Elephant Nature Park.
Navann and his growing brigade of aunties give everyone the feeling that there is hope for new relationships. ENP’s Navann is gaining new admirers with each passing day. There is hardly an elephant in the park whose life Navann has not touched in some way or another.
Baby elephant Dok Mai: a photo essay of her first mud bath
On 23 May, our new baby elephant, Dok Mai, made her first ever trip to the mud pit with her mom, Dok Ngern. More photos to come soon! Enjoy!
