A Day with Asian Elephants

Spending a day with these majestic creatures sounds like an easy call – but it wasn’t. I did a lot of research and soul-searching before making the decision to participate in what has become one of the most popular tourist attractions in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

First, we had to get to know the elephants. They were just
wondering around, no enclosure, no chains.

The Asian elephant has been worshipped and domesticated for centuries and is still used today for ceremonial and religious purposes. They are thought to bring good fortune and Buddhists believe they assist along the path to enlightenment. They have been employed to move heavy objects, such as logs, to carry humans and even to wage war. But elephants have also been badly mistreated. They have been worked to death in the logging industry, which the Thai government finally banned in 1989. Many elephants were killed by hunters for sport – which is illegal now, but poaching for ivory, meat and hides still continues. The government ban on logging effectively put many domesticated elephants out of work so the market for elephants as living tourist attractions has grown exponentially. But there is also evidence that they have suffered mistreatment and this is where my conundrum lay.

We were given special shirts to wear in order to familiarize ourselves with the elephants.

I had heard about the ‘tiger temple’ – a popular tourist attraction where tigers roam, seemingly at will. But several reports indicated that the tigers were tied up and drugged so as not to harm tourists. I wondered if this was the case with the elephants. I won’t go to a circus because I believe the animals are poorly treated, yet here I was, considering going on an elephant trek.

After getting to know the elephants, we fed them a basket of bananas and other fruits. Some members of our group (including Paul) tried to throw the food in the elephant's mouth, which did not work, of course. We had to place the food quite high up in the elephant's mouth. There was a strong suction-like action which was a bit unnerving at first.

After feeding the animals we learned about the ways to determine
the health of the animal. Healthy elephants have at least 5 bowel
movements a day. Feces should be moist, which indicates the animals
are getting enough water. Older elephants have longer fibres in their
feces because they don't chew as well as younger animals.

Since elephants are vegetarians, their
feces has a not unpleasant grass-like
smell. If the smell is bad, the animal
could be sick.

Healthy elephants, like this one, sweat from their toes.

Defenders of working elephants, whether for farming, performing or trekking, point to the very expensive upkeep — an adult elephant can eat up to 130 kilograms of fruits and vegetables each day — Thailand is a poor country. The Thai government maintains that elephants entertaining tourists in monitored and supervised parks is a legitimate and pragmatic way of conserving the animals.

Before our trek, we had to brush the mud and dirt from the elephants. Healthy elephants sleep lying down, so an indication of their health is dirt on both sides of their bodies.

There are 2 ways to get on the elephant, depending
on the preference of the elephant. Paul's elephant lifts 
its leg to help him mount like you would a horse.

In the end, the lure of spending time with these amazing creatures was too much. We chose to visit the Patara Elephant Farm. Patara combines conservation with education and restricted tourism (visitors are limited to eight to 12 per day). It breeds elephants, which are then sold to other elephant farms or elephant attractions; it offers day-long or overnight treks for travellers while also involving them in, and teaching them about, an elephant’s daily needs and activities.

The other way to get on the elephant is to scramble up its trunk as it lifts it. You end up facing backwards and you must turn around once you are up!

The elephant is Earth's largest land animal, although Asian elephants are slightly smaller than African elephants and have smaller, rounded ears. In the 1850s, there were an estimated 100,000 elephants in Thailand. Now there are just over 4200 — 1500 in the wild and 2700 domesticated animals. The Asian elephant originally ranged from modern Iraq and Syria to the Yellow River in China, but is now found only from India to Vietnam.

I am riding Noi and Paul is riding Mai May, both female. I thought Noi was
huge, but when I see her next to Mai May, she looks smaller. By this time,
as you can see, Paul had discarded his special shirt!!

Each elephant had a handler that always 
worked with that particular elephant.

It seemed to us like the handlers were barely 

visible. They used words and an occasional tug on 

the ear, if required - never sticks or prods. 

Asian elephants love the water and are excellent swimmers. This baby
belongs to the elephant at left. The baby followed its mother for the whole trek-
never tied and barged around as it pleased. It seemed very confident and bold,
like an over indulged child. So cute!

In the wild, Asian elephants are found in scrub forest, preferring areas with grass, small plants, tree bark, roots, leaves and small stems. The elephants in our group all like sweets and after our lunch, we fed them the leftover desserts. They are extremely sociable, forming groups of related females that are led by the oldest female, the 'matriarch'.  

There were 7 people in our group.

The baby followed along for the entire 
trek.

More than two thirds of an elephant's day may be spent foraging.

Cultivated crops such as bananas, rice and sugarcane are 

popular foods, but can cause obvious human/elephant conflict. 

At one point our trek followed the edge of a paved road. The passengers of several vehicles slowed to take
pictures!

Asian elephants keep their ears in constant motion in order to radiate the heat they generate and therefore cool themselves. Healthy elephants also keep their tails moving. An elephant's trunk is used for smelling, breathing, trumpeting, drinking, and also for grabbing things—especially a potential meal. The trunk alone contains about 100,000 different muscles.

We were given woven bamboo baskets to wash the elephants. They
seem to really love the water.

We rode the elephants to a watering hole fed by a stream. Because they need to drink at least once a day, elephants are always close to a source of fresh water.

Part of the watering hole was deep enough for the elephants to
completely submerge. We sat on them and poured water on them
from the basket and scrubbed them with the brush.

Elephants have a longer pregnancy than any other mammal—almost 22 months. Cows usually give birth to one calf every two to four years. At birth, elephants already weigh some 91 kilograms and stand about a metre tall. Babies stay with their mother until they are about 4 years. They do not reach full size until about 17 years of age.

The watering hole was lots of fun.

The elephants seemed to enjoy this part as much as we did!

After the water hole, we rode through the jungle, up quite a steep hill and stopped for an amazing picnic lunch, (my hair was still wet!)

Noi is 16 years old and 12 months pregnant
with her first baby. 

Mai May is 24 years old. She had a baby 2
years ago.

As mentioned, one of the goals of the Patara Elephant Farm is to breed elephants. We were fortunate to see a three week old baby.  The baby was on antibiotics for a skin disease.

The older baby tried to sneak a banana.

In the end, our day with the elephants was a highlight. At no time did I see the elephants chained or tied (although Paul said they were tied during our lunch to keep them from wandering back to the 'pasture'.) The handlers were inconspicuous. The elephants seemed gentle and content. As we made our trek, we saw other elephants wandering around, including the mother and baby above. I was impressed with the educational aspect of our day and the patience of the handlers. Patera provided an excellent lunch and we were all given a picture and video CD at the end of the day. Every detail was looked after, including hotel pick-up and drop off and 'riding clothes'. Just a fabulous day.

I wish Thailand success in its conservation efforts with these beautiful creatures.