Our intern Debbie was lucky enough to spend time on one of our more unique programs, Journey to Freedom. Here's what she had to say about her experience: 'Journey to Freedom was one of the most rewarding experiences…
Education and knowledge are the keys to change. This is something we have learned over and over, not just with visitors who come to Thailand and to our projects, but also with other elephant camps.
When Erawan Elephant Retirement Park opened in July, 2013, Save Elephant Foundation was able to take five elephants from trekking camps, street begging and performance shows and move them to a new home … in retirement. Now, almost six months later, we are happy to report that these elephants are enjoying their freedom. This project came about because Lek worked hard to establish relationships with camps in Kanchanaburi and educate them on how to help their elephants lives become better.
An integral part to all of our projects is education that expands beyond just our world of visitors and volunteers. We continue to educate elephant camp owners and hope we can help improve their lives in captivity.
Over the past few years, we have had several camps open next to us at Elephant Nature Park.
The nearby trekking camp with their elephants. This is no longer their world, thanks to the hard work and education they have received from Lek and SEF about how to better their elephants lives.
Elephant Nature Park’s newest mother ‘Mae’ Sri Prae is a bit on the cautious side to say the least! Since Navann’s arrival the pair have spent most of their time in the shelter with the occasional outing at the end of the day. Navann is so curious and over-excited to explore everything and everywhere, he often takes off running ahead of Sri Prae and grandma-auntie Mae Kham Paan. This, of course, causes them to panic and charge after him.
More often than not, Navann is rushing towards other elephants, either with the intention of introducing himself to them or sometimes out of confusion, wanting to take refuge under their bodies — forgetting that the females who are expecting that kind of behavior are actually BEHIND him!
These situations can lead to chaos and unexpected harm, possibly to Navann. Trying to stop an overexcited, healthy, robust three-month-old bull elephant on a mission is no easy task!
Sri Prae has become accustomed to the boundaries of the chain-free shelter and knows Navann is safe to run as he wishes when in their space, but the outside world is a different story! When released it can sometimes take a while for Sri Prae and Mae Kham Paan to relax and enjoy themselves.
The mud pit has been the destination of choice on the most recent outings.
Recently, we’ve been overwhelmed with how frequently the word “awww” is heard in the office. Being around so many animals, not a day goes by without us witnessing something cute! Although we don’t always have access to a camera, here are our top shots of capturing cute at Save Elephant Foundation (in no particular order). As you’ll notice, Navann owns quite the monopoly at the moment!
If you want an even better look at these adorable snaps, click on the photos.
We may be biased, but we think he’s the cutest elephant in the world!