As you very likely know, elephant interaction tours are a big thing in Thailand and all over Southeast Asia. What you may not realize is how bad many of these programs are for the elephants, and how horrible the training is for many of them. This first elephant post is going to be a bit of a bummer, but it is a conversation that needs to be had again and again to help change the way things work. So please bear with us. Fun posts with cute photos and videos will come next.

We learned quite a bit about the lives of elephants and the local people during our with them, including how the elephants have been trained and used historically. It all starts with a horrible contraption called a pajaan. Young elephants who have been poached or taken from their mothers are tied up and tortured with chains, hooks, nails, and worse. This is done to break their spirits and make them more amenable to commands. It takes only week to break their spirit, but it takes a lifetime to rebuild it. Sometimes this process can injure the elephants (mentally and physically) to a point that they cannot be used as the poachers/owners/mahouts want to use them. (Mahouts are the people who work with the elephants and live with them day in, and day out. As with anything, there are very good mahouts, and very bad ones.) For those that do survive the pajaan, they are put to work.

Elephants are used for things like illegal logging, trekking and elephant rides, circuses and shows, festivals, street begging and so much more. Though they look big and strong, this type of work is not what they were built for. I know you may think, “I only weigh ###lbs. An elephant can easily hold me.” This is true, but they often also have a bench strapped to their backs and carry tourists (before and after you) for hours a day. Their spines and joints are not made for that amount of continuous weight and can lead to broken backs, dislocated hips, frozen ankle joints and more. (If you really must ride an elephant, please ensure the place you go does it bareback without benches. This is much better for them.)

On top of this, the diet of these working elephants is all wrong. In the jungle, elephants can eat for around 20 hours a day and sleep for 4. They eat all day long, and can poop at least once an hour. When they are forced to work like this, they cannot eat as much or as often as they need to. The diet is also all wrong. The sugary foods they are fed on these sites (like banana only diets) can cause them to go blind or become malnourished.

These practices continue because of a lack of education about the problem. After doing research, we learned that Elephant Nature Park (ENP) is working to change that. There are a few options for volunteering with them near Chiang Mai. You can come to the park for a day visit; join for a week as an elephant, dog, or cat volunteer; or participate in a program they call Journey 2 Freedom (J2F). This program not only offers you lots of up close and personal time with the elephants, but also gives you the opportunity to learn about the local culture and support nearby villages. We chose J2F and are so glad we did!

All of this leaves us feeling a bit conflicted. We love that these programs exist for us. But the fact that it means these beautiful creatures had to suffer so much to make it happen makes it feel a little wrong. But the good news here is that all rescued animals can now live more free lives. Those that come in hurt or sick are often healed, or helped to live more comfortable lives. Some elephants are even returned to the jungle (with their kind mahouts) or reunited with their families. And babies rescued or born here are not trained in the pajaan. They are taught by the example of their herds and through positive reinforcement with the mahouts.

In the end, please be careful and responsible in the activities you choose to participate in when you travel. Make sure that the people, animals and all involved are treated respectfully and humanely.

For more information about ENP, please visit: https://www.elephantnaturepark.org/ or http://www.saveelephant.org/

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