Elephants In Thailand/elephant Nature Park

**Lady Hawk** · 11-04-2007, 02:30 PM

ELEPHANT NATURE PARK.

This project founded by LEK CHAILERT during the 1990's is a sanctuary for rescued elephants.

The park is situated in the Mae Tang valley 1 ½ hours north of Chiang Mai.

Lek has dedicated her life to saving these majestic animals from the torture and abuse that they have suffered most of there lives.
The park is open to visitors wishing to see elephants in a surrounding similar to that of there own habit.

1 to 3 day visit’s are available and volunteers can also apply to work at the park.
You will be warmly greeted at the parks gate and taken to the dinning hall for a tutorial.
This tutorial is given for the safety of all visitors , most of these elephants have suffered abuse at some point and can be unpredictable so safety here is paramount.
The most barbaric method used to break the spirit of an elephant, is the PHAAJAAN.

The Phaajaan is still in use today although illegal in Thailand this practice is still going on.
Baby elephants are taken from their mothers at a very early age they are confined in a wooden structure
With no room to move thus immobilizing them completely.
Tied and chained they are left with no food or water for days they are beaten with sticks and sharp nails are gouged in to their ears, the most sensitive part of an elephants body.

During this treatment the baby will suffer terrible injury ,with bleeding infected wounds, starvation, dehydration ,trauma or even death
Females may be tortured for three days, while males up to seven ,after this period they are dragged by chains through the streets of the village to the cheers of the villagers and the proud mahout now has compliancy and control.
These broken animals can now be used for logging begging or the tourist trade.
With this insight and an informative lesson on how to approach ,feed and bath the elephants it’s time to give them lunch.

Each elephant has its own basket of food as each has a different dietary need.

Each visitor can choose which elephant to feed, and these huge giants hungrily grab and devour it in seconds,
The elephants new mahout’s has been hand picked and trained to care for their elephant not to mistreat or abuse it.

Feeding over the elephants head for the river for a cooling bath ,and a scrub. Some of the elephants are taken to a different parts of the river away from the rest of the herd as ones can be unpredictable.

The sight of these free animals is heart warming ,the baby’s after bathing go to play in the mud, splashing and covering their skin to keep away the fly’s and to prevent sunburn.

The older ones cover themselves in dust for the same reason.
The scenery is fantastic and watching the herd roaming the park is a wonderful site to see most of the elephants are not from the same herd or family but each has formed it’s own group or friend to wander or play with.

Lunch is now severed for the visitors in the dinning hall ,this buffet style lunch is a great spread with free water tea or coffee Soft drinks and beers are available at extra cost.
Lunch over your afternoon is free to relax and watch the elephants ,this can be from the platfor,or down on the ground with your group and group leader..

Each rescued elephant has a history of abuse ,some have had to work all their lives only to be abandoned and left to starve.
One old girl is a landmine victim with only half a foot, whilst others include an elephant that worked in the trekking industry by day ,and by night ,given amphetamine to work non-stop as a logger.

One of the baby’s witnessed her mother being shot ,this was found starving and close to death.

Thirty animals make up this herd and instead of the sad weary eyes you see on the elephants used for trekking or used as I saw frequently in Chiang Mai for begging these giants of the forest at have a freedom that is there birth right..
It’s a great pity that all the elephants in Thailand cannot have this right
For more info or to book the trip please go to ; www.elephantnaturepark.org
other info avaliable at;PETA: Torture in Thailand
DREAMS OF THE GREAT EARTH CHANGES
www.elephant.tnet.co

**Marmite the Dog** · 11-04-2007, 04:13 PM

A beautiful thread and lots of lovely pictures.

**ChiangMai noon** · 11-04-2007, 04:46 PM

It is nice.
I'd rather Lady Hawk put it in her own words though.

**Lady Hawk** · 11-04-2007, 11:17 PM

^^ cheers marmers

Originally Posted by ChiangMai noon

I'd rather Lady Hawk put it in her own words though.

Mr Noon you really are a rotten git,they are my own words honestly..men
Just because i'm dyslexic does not mean i can't write it just takes ages to spell check.
school teachers are like coppers always thinking they know it all.

**Propagator** · 12-04-2007, 03:05 AM

Great thread LH

**thaibook** · 12-04-2007, 03:10 AM

Yes, great post as well as a great project! When I was in CM, I passed by the place and actually went there a few years back. Donated a bit of money to them now I am a bit older and realise the importance behind the project.

**RDN** · 12-04-2007, 07:38 PM

Is that a really, really small elephant or is it a fokking great snake that's about to eat it?

**hooter** · 13-04-2007, 01:40 AM

I will be in CM in July and will definately pay a visit.

Thanks Lady Hawk. I love elephants me.

**Scooter** · 13-04-2007, 07:15 PM

Nice pictures.

How much is it to visit or stay there?

**dirtydog** · 13-04-2007, 07:32 PM

From there website it seems to be 2,000baht for a day visit or more if you want to stay overnight.

**dirtydog** · 13-04-2007, 07:38 PM

0830 am. Pick up from your accommodation and depart to a local market for various elephant food and supplements A picturesque drive through agricultural Thai countryside, along Mae Taeng Valley brings you to Elephant Nature Park. You will hear the personal stories of our rescued elephants as told by expert guides. You will learn about the problems elephants face in Southeast Asia, as how Elephant Nature Park is helping in the treatment, and care of Thailand's dwindling elephant population.
Feeding time. After unloading and distributing the fruit treats you will have a chance to feed the elephants from the viewing platform.
Lunch: A sumptuous and varied buffet follows.
Bathing Time: walk with our staff to the river that skirts the park
After learning how to safely and properly bathe an elephant, plunge right in and help scrub these giants as they splash around. If going into the river is not for you then watch the elephants bathe and play while you stay dry on the sandy shore. Around 5pm it's time for goodbyes to the elephants and to Elephant Nature Park before the hour-long drive back to Chiang Mai where you will be dropped off at your accommodations.

Things to bring: Shorts/swimming gear and change of clothing.
This trip operates all year round

Includes:
Transportation to park
Admission fees
Professional elephant expert guideMeal Plan:
Lunch x 1 (yours and the elephants)
Tour Operates: Jan-DecTour costs (per person)<B> Adult2,500 Baht Convert this

**daveboy** · 13-04-2007, 08:04 PM

Nice thread LH grerat pics

**Anonymous Coward** · 13-04-2007, 08:08 PM

Excellent photos. Thank-you LH.

**thaibook** · 13-04-2007, 08:51 PM

^ Alternatively, its not that far outside of CM. I just rented a motorcyle and was there in no time...

manuelrodriguez · 23-05-2007, 01:30 PM

Looks great! wow I wish I been there!

**Lady Hawk** · 11-03-2008, 01:34 PM

Now i have found out how to get pics on TD from photo bucket can anyone tell me how i can put my pics back on this thread.

**klongmaster** · 11-03-2008, 02:09 PM

^wondered why I couldn't see any pics LH...are your pics in the TD gallery or only on Pbucket...remember PBucket makes loading of pics reaaaaallly sloooow....

**Lady Hawk** · 11-03-2008, 02:27 PM

The pics have been taken from photo bucket and put in my gallery

**klongmaster** · 11-03-2008, 02:45 PM

^OK..there's a tutorial on how to load the pics here
https://teakdoor.com/how-to-use-stuff...with-pics.html

the part you need is from here

Originally Posted by klongmaster

If you want to post the pic in this size right click and select ‘copy image location’. Be careful NOT to select ‘copy link location’.

If you want to show the pic in the full size of the file then first you must click on the pic itself to increase the size, like this.

Now you can right click and select ‘copy image location’. Now, go back to the thread on the forum where you wanted to post the pic and click on the yellow box of the mountains. This will open the url page.

Easiest way for this step is to use the key board. Press ‘Ctrl v’ which will paste the url link of your pic. You can use the mouse to paste with but make sure you delete the ‘http’ which is already there, otherwise you’ll get it twice and your pic will not show.

If you’ve done this correctly you will be able to see some of your pic in the small screen before you click ‘Post Quick Reply’.

**dirtydog** · 11-03-2008, 03:03 PM

Originally Posted by Lady Hawk

Now i have found out how to get pics on TD from photo bucket can anyone tell me how i can put my pics back on this thread.

Probably easiest to just copy and paste your original text into a new thread with the pictures.

**Lady Hawk** · 12-03-2008, 12:04 AM

cheers DD will do..i hope

**Rattanaburi** · 26-02-2009, 01:55 PM

Just something related to elephants which might be interesting to some readers.

Musth - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Musth \ˈməst\ (or, alternatively spelled, must \ˈməst\) is a periodic condition in bull elephants, characterized by highly aggressive behavior, and less notably, by copious discharge of a thick tar-like secretion called temporin from the temporal ducts on the sides of the head. It is accompanied by a significant rise in reproductive hormones - testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be as much as 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times. However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor, is unknown; scientific investigation of musth is greatly hindered because, during musth, even the most otherwise placid of elephants may try to kill any and all humans. Similarly, the tar-like secretion remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting samples for analysis; however, secretions and urine collected from zoo elephants have been shown to contain elevated levels of various highly odorous ketones and aldehydes.
The musth secretion, which naturally runs down into the elephant's mouth, is full of ketones and aldehydes and (to a human at least) tastes unbelievably foul. The swelling of the temporal glands presses on the elephant's eyes and causes the elephant severe pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. One elephant behaviour to try to counteract this is to dig its tusks into the ground.
Although it has often been speculated that musth is linked to rut, this is unlikely because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked, whereas musth most often takes place in winter. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. Connections to dominance behaviour have also been speculated.
Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Numerous cases of elephants goring and killing rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the population seem to have the effect of preventing younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stopping their aggressive behavior. [1] [2]
A musth elephant, wild or domesticated, is extremely dangerous to humans. In zoos, musth is often the cause of fatal accidents to elephant keepers. Zoos keeping adult male elephants need extremely secure enclosures, which greatly complicates the attempts to breed elephants in zoos.
Domesticated elephants on musth in India are traditionally tied to a tree and denied food and water for several days, after which the musth passes. Mahouts are often able to greatly shorten the duration of their elephants' musth. This is accomplished by tying the bull to two extremely strong trees, and keeping him on a starvation diet until the musth ends, typically after 5 to 7 days; xylazine is also used. Also, the elephant is chained separately for nearly one month and special medicinal food is given. During this time, the elephant is not used for work or religious processions. It should be noted that, as mahouts work with Indian elephants, the starvation technique has not been tried on African elephants.

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