A Place to Call Home

When my friend and I decided to backpack across southern Asia for a month, I had my heart set on riding an elephant. I remember my first time seeing them at a circus during a field trip in grade school. They were these large, beautiful animals dressed ornately in feathers and jewels. I fell in love with the gentle and cautious way they moved, and the kindness in their eyes. When I was older I envied the pictures I would see on social media, people perched on their trunks, or riding into the jungle on their backs. But after doing some research and learning about the horrific tactics used in the training processes, it was impossible to ignore the bull hooks seen prominently in every one of those seemingly beautiful posed pictures. The tricks they are made to perform are not natural, and in order to get them to obey involves a violent process of breaking their spirits with starvation, chaining, beating, and ripping them away from their families at an early age.

           So instead of supporting an industry that wants only to profit at the expense of these creatures, we chose instead to support a rescue that is responsible for saving them. The Elephant Nature Park is a small foundation located outside of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. With their 500 acres, it is home to over 80 elephants who have been rescued from abusive conditions in the tourism and logging industries. During the few days we spent there we were able to closely interact with dozens of these gentle giants, many of whom had suffered serious trauma at the hands of previous owners. We fed, walked, and bathed them as they lived happily the way elephants were intended to— freely.

           Seeing the bond these elephants have with their mahouts—based on trust and respect rather than fear and pain, was remarkable. Just across the river, on a different farm, we could see and hear the elephants that had not been so lucky. Their distressed cries echoed across the ravine as their mahouts forced them to perform tricks and carry tourists. Their heads bobbed nervously, eyes wide with fear as the mahouts waved bull hooks threateningly.

           After seeing that contrast first hand I urge anyone considering elephant related tourism to go through a rescue program. Working with and caring for the elephants was a much more rewarding and meaningful experience than forced trekking and abuse. I promise there will still be plenty of opportunities for great Facebook photos.

Let the elephants be elephants, and rescue don’t ride.