Elephants

Elephant Nature Park

Any guesses to what my new favorite animal is? If you read my last post, you will know it isn't monkeys! After my day at the Elephant Nature Park out of Chiang Mai, I am an elephant lover. There are so many different opportunities to visit elephants in Thailand, but after I did some research I knew the Elephant Nature Park was where we were going to go. Unlike other places where the elephants have to give rides or do tricks, this park was a beautiful refuge for abused and abandoned elephants. Up until 1985 elephants were mostly used for logging, and then it was prohibited. People could no longer afford to take care of their elephants who were then abused or set free. Elephants live a long time and the park had a 2 year old and a 80 year old! We spent the day interacting with the animals and learning more about them. They each have unique personalities and form tight relationships with the staff and the other elephants. One of the elephants is blind and its best friend leads it around all day! We got to help feed the animals and bathe them in the river. It was a amazing experience and I hope to return one day!