The days I spent volunteering at Elephant Nature Park were truly some of the most amazing. I've never been to such an incredible place, nor met such an incredible women with such a massive heart!The lady who started ENP, Lek Chailer, is very passionate about animals and wanted to save elephants who are maltreated during tourism.
Lek founded Elephant Nature Park in 1996. Elephant Nature park aims to provide a sanctuary for elephants to live in a peaceful natural environment. A veterinarian from the park also provides medical care to sick elephants in remote areas. The park's current herd includes disabled, orphaned, blind, and rescued elephants of all ages. These elephants are rescued from street begging, logging, or tourism.Elephant Nature Park has rescued over 37 distressed elephants throughout the country and has received numerous awards from institutions including the Smithsonian.
And trust me, some of them are truly maltreated. Some of the elephants we met had their eyes stabbed out and were blinded, while others were severely neglected. One elephant lost her baby while being forced to carry loads while giving birth, and she was so devastated she refused to work, so they beat her and starved her until she would work again.
I will never understand how anyone can be so cruel.
It is truly sad, as elephants are such a big tourist attraction and so many of the common treks taken by visitors in Thailand include elephant rides or elephant shows. It's understandable as they are truly such amazing creatures. But these elephants many times live in really harsh conditions and suffer quite a bit.
Lek has dedicated her whole life and all of her money to this cause, and she has done some seriously amazing work! Not only does she provide a shelter for abused and rescued elephants, but she has also rescued water buffalo from the slaughterhouse, and even taken in stray cats and dogs.
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| Baby Ellie! |
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| Elephant who stepped on a landmine :( |
As a matter of fact, she has over 400 abandoned and abused dogs at the park many of whom remain in a different shelter. It is so sad to hear all of their stories, and many of them can't even manage being around people because they were so mistreated.
Of course, most of the dogs love the attention and long for nothing more than a belly rub and some cuddles. I was constantly surprised by the amount of dogs lying around by the dinner area, yet none of them begged for food. Winston would have been in heaven begging each patron to drop him some treats!
I really can't even fathom how someone couldn't love these creatures. I could have stayed and watched the elephants and cuddled the dogs and cats all day everyday.
While volunteering, I met Zoey from London who had quit her job and was taking a year to travel all around Southeast Asia. We spent the most time together as others from our group were older or didn't speak English.
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| The dog and cat waiting outside the door with me and Zoey |
Adorable yes, but of course we have no idea where the cat has been. And even though they seem very well taken care of, it still isn't recommended to open up your doors to all the strays, as in the words of Hemingway "one cat leads to another". And then you wake up feeling like Snow White.
While attempting to lure the cat outside the door, two more cats and a dog came up to the balcony and attempted to enter the room! It was seriously the sweetest yet saddest thing ever, as of course I wanted to let them all in and snuggle them forever.
The dog followed me back and entered my own room as I unlocked the door. I really wanted to let him stay and snuggle-- and if I had a few more beers I probably would have just left my door open entirely for infinite love all night-- nonetheless, I forced myself to say goodbye..
To both the pups and the Elephant Nature Park. It was the experience of a lifetime, and I definitely have plans to come back and spend more time with all of the amazing creatures and individuals!
