It's hard to describe how much an elephant EATS. They graze and feed constantly, preferring banana, lush greens, fruit, sugarcane & veggies like cucumbers. We saw it, yet again, yesterday and even after 18 years living in Thailand I am STILL incredulous at how much they can EAT!
For eons, elephants have been a lifestyle - a vocation - for their mahouts in Surin and, here in Northwestern Thailand, for the indigenouos Karen people. Enter the flood of American tourists after the Vietnam war and elephants suddenly became almost as lucrative as opium & ganja. Almost. 😆 And "elephant tourism" in Thailand was born. Previously revered by the Thai people and considered royal beings and an integral part of jungle mountain living, they became a means to leverage tourist revenue. And with that came elephant abuse, elephant rides, degrading elephant shows and more. Bullhooks and chains to subdue a regal power for the pleasure of a bored tourist.
The reaction to this out-of-control elephant abuse and capitalism has been the rise of elephant rescue & eco-tourism. Here, in Chiang Mai where I have lived for 17 years, we are now surrounded by elephant parks and elephant sanctuaries, specifically for retired, exhausted, abused and rescued elephants. 125 elephants at last official count. They have been domesticated to the point where they can never really return to the wild. The cost of feeding them and containing them in such a way as to co-exist with impoversihed farmers is astronomical. And so tourism has adapted and one can PAY for an exclusive elephant experience - swimming with them, washing them, feeding & hanging out with them - roaming free but with a trained mahout handy. What does a half day elelphant experience cost? About 1,500 THB - which is around USD $50.
FFWD to 2019 when Thailand had just on 40 million tourists. Elephant sancturies are having babies (cos there IS money here people!) and the business is brisk. If it has an elephant on it, it sells. Still.
And then Covid and a total closing of the tourist faucet. For now 7 brutal months.
Most people don't expect any return of tourists till November, and then it will be only 1,000 people per day for the whole country.
Chiang Mai has responded magnificently to it's starving and economically collapsed people population: we have had food queues and distribution, rent forgiveness, generosity beyond belief and a wonderful sense of collaboration and giving. This in a country with no pensions and no unemployment benefits. Ironically no one (except a few hardened western expats) is blaming the government.
But the elephants are hungry, their mahout families are broke and the local farmers are also doing it hard and not in a position to give away much.
And so the Mae Rim Elephant Sanctuary came up with a novel idea to suppport the local elephants: An Elephant Pool Party.
Being local and part of the world we live in, we went. Cos our family is more than just humans. To have a few beers by the pool (proceeds to the elephant food fund) and buy some hugely marked up local fruit and sugarcane, so that the profits could be used to help feed the elephants for another month. Getting masses of free social media promo for when we DO have tourists? my entrepreneurial self applauded their creativity and willingly obliged with facebook and twitter shares.
Sun on a hot hot day, a great pool, music, loads of people we knew, a BBQ (proceeds to the elephants), Chang beer (cos of the elephant logo) and a chance for my 16 year old daughter and her bestie to have some healthy, community based fun. And only 15 mins from home.
The elephants normally roam around and graze around the sanctuary, but given the number of people, they were kept contained for public safety reasons. A low fence and loads of contact - never forget these are NOT wild elephants and they're very accustomed to people. It was nice knowing some local farmer also got to sell all his old bananas and over-ripe pineapples.
And so we hung out poolside and relaxed. For the elephants. Sidebar: Vanessa - Ploi is loving & using your Converse bag LOL - hope your bday weekend in London was great.
But we REALLY came for feeding the elephants. Which we did rather a lot of, and very happily, knowing that the extra money they raised will keep these guys fed a bit longer.
Nicky, Ploi's bestie, was too scared to get close but it was a wonderful teachable moment to show her how gentle these huge animals can be. We had a GREAT talk poolsde about the consequences of domesticating wild animals, and our collective responsibility for the mistakes of those who came before. The girls loved knowing that there still are many wild elephants roaming in the Thai jungles, particularly in the huge national parks adjoining the Burmese border near Mae Salit and near Khlong Laan.
I had SUCH a sense during the afternoon of quiet acceptance from the elephants, much the same as an aging grandma might be annoyed by the irritating toddlers at her feet but KNOWS that in their exuberant carelessness, they really do love her.
And so it is.
When you are FINALLY able to return to Thailand as a tourist, we would invite you to visit one of the REAL elephant sanctuaries, where these magnificent Beings can live out their lives peacefully, without being ridden or turned into a sideshow. KNOW that the not inconsiderable sum you pay for this pleasure and privilege means they will have adequate food and veterinary care, and that their Karen mahout families who know no other way of life will also have enough to send their kids to school, put petrol in the motorbike and keep food on the table.
Do get in touch for a cuppa when you visit - we're just up the road.
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