Over three years ago, the Thai government confiscated 21 elephants from a camp in Kanchanaburi. It was believed that the elephants did not have proper documentation. These elephants were used for trekking, elephant shows and were also rented to other…
On the second of February 2015 after a 20 hour truck ride, a rickety shadow of an elephant arrived to Elephant Nature Park. There have been numerous elephants rescued since the founding of ENP back in 1995, many arriving in…
[fusion_text]After a long truck ride from the Surin province, on January 17th a very worn out fifty year old elephant stepped off the truck at ENP, yet unaware that her well deserved retirement had finally begun. She has been renamed…
We get asked a lot for more details about our Surin Project and how it differs from Elephant Nature Park and other volunteer programs. If you are looking for a way to volunteer in Thailand, Surin Project is a fantastic…
Surin Project, located in the Surin Province of Thailand (about three hours from Siem Reap, Cambodia and six hours from Bangkok), in an ancient Kui village, is a volunteer experience like none other. The project, which is located within the…
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.
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.
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.
Four-month-old Navann has been having more fun than ever in the past few weeks at Elephant Nature Park.
His evening trips to the mud pit accompanied by mom Sri Prae and auntie Mae Kham Paan have been lasting longer and longer, finally climaxing with the long awaited first trip to the river.
At first we had thought that Sri Prae would not feel safe taking Navann to the river without a few more guardians, so we were not pushing the idea. The plan was to introduce Malai Tong and Jarunee to see if they all could get on without any stress or conflict. While this was still in the works, Mae Kham Paan and Navann decided they were ready, taking the initiative and heading to the river’s edge one fine afternoon after an extended romp in the mud. Once the two of them reached the water, Sri Prae could do nothing but follow.
Navann’s herd grows to include Malai Tong and Jarunee as aunties (from left – right: Sri Prae, Mae Kham Paan, Navann, Malai Tong, Jarunee)
Navann could not have been more excited! The river was a giant wading pool to him. He could hardly contain himself — rushing around splashing and tumbling down into the water, Mom and Auntie doing their best to keep him inbetween their legs. That first experience was kept short and sweet but from that day forward, playing in the river became part of the routine and something that Navann looked forward to with great anticipation.
For the last seven years, the first of January brought not only the new year, but also an amazing group of inspirational people – The Power of One!
Led by Americans Juelle and Donovan and their foundation, Blue Star of Hope, the Power of One is a concept dedicated to bringing young people of all cultures, from all corners of the world together to share in a volunteer experience.