For one lucky 65-year-old elephant, her life of trekking came to an end on 25 March 2014. Kwan Jit, meaning sweet heart in Thai, stepped into a new life of freedom at Elephant Nature Park, joining more than 30 other rescued…
Through the years, we have had various enrichment toys for our elephants placed around the park. Many elephants make good use of the “toys,” while others pay little attention to them.
At the moment, we have a few elephants who are confined to their shelters while they are being treated for abscesses or foot problems. Once again, we have taken to creating enrichment toys to help ease their boredom while stimulating their sense of curiousity and problem solving.
We roam around the park looking for tires, branches and discarded boxes that can be used safely. We take a trip to the jungle and cut off bamboo branches that have already been knocked down by elephants and find other plant life that might be interesting. We then snatch up bundles of elephant grass and banana leaves. From there we head to the elephant kitchen and find various fruits and veg that can also be stuffed into the boxes and tires.
Editor’s Note: We’ve invited our intern, Sofiya, to contribute to Save Elephant Foundation’s blog and document her experiences with some of our projects.
For most of my life elephants and monkeys have been my favorite animals. You can imagine my excitement when I found out I was selected to intern at Save Elephant Foundation here in Chiang Mai, which meant I would be traveling to Thailand where my two favorite animals happily reside.
After a couple days settling into the office I had the opportunity to volunteer at the park. There are several different ways to visit Elephant Nature Park, from day visits and overnight stays to week-long volunteer opportunities. Since I arrived later in the week I missed the general tour and information which week-long volunteers receive at the beginning of their stay. Before I could join the volunteers in their duties, I was scheduled to walk around with the day visitors and familiarize myself with the park grounds as well as catch up on what I had missed.
At 8 a.m. I got picked up at the office with a group of day visitors and we embarked on an hour long ride to the park. In the van we had the opportunity to hear details about the park and were shown a documentary centered around Asian elephants and the park itself. Our day visit guide, Sai, was incredibly knowledgable, friendly and open to every and any question we had about the park and the elephants.
One of the nicest, most competent and well known mahouts at the Elephant Nature Park is 36-year-old Dam. He is currently the mahout of Navann and Sri Prae. Dam comes from the Shan state of Burma (or Myanmar). About ten percent of our mahouts are Shan, who fled their homeland to escape persecution. Dam has been in Thailand for 15 years and has always worked as a mahout. His wife, Gayna, is also employed by ENP, and works in the kitchen. They have a beautiful 5-year-old daughter, Faa Sai. Dam is linguistically diverse and is fluent in Shan, Burmese, some Chinese, as well as Thai!
Mintra can’t wipe the smile off her face these days … she has a good friend by her side, a bundle of joy at her breast and a loyal old fuss budget hovering in the background. But what makes her smile the most is that she is enjoying the company of those most dearest to her while grazing peacefully, feeling the grass underfoot and the sun shining on her back. She can have a roll in the mud when she wishes and has a companion to rub against when needed. Finally, after six weeks in the security of the shelter, Mintra and Yin Dee are free to roam at will at Elephant Nature Park!
After a long hiatus waiting for the completion of a new and improved training wall, Elephant Nature Park is happy to announce that positive reinforcement based target training and foot care is once again part of our daily routine.
The foot window is not yet completed. There will be two adjustable/removable bars for the foot to rest on. The stool is only temporary.
Dear old Mae Tee. At around 60 years old, she has an indomitable spirit. Against all odds, Mae Tee is roaming further and further afield with each passing day.
Note how far behind Mae Tee the medical center is. Mae Tee really enjoys roaming far and wide.
She is enjoying fleeting interactive moments with Dok Mai, Dok Ngern and the other sociable members of that extended family group. She sometimes has pushing matches with Chang Yim.
Rumbles, roars and chirps erupted at around 12:15 a.m. on August 25th breaking the midnight silence, announcing the arrival of a new born calf. Stirred to consciousness by the vocalizations, bleary eyed ENP staff sprung from their beds. Grabbing flashlights and cameras, they rushed to the elephant shelters to catch a glimpse of the newest member of our herd.
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…
