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My name is Josh, and I first heard about the elephant camp when I came to Chiang
Mai with my school in May 2008. We went to the elephant camp for a day, and what
I saw there was amazing. The elephants were happy, they played in the water and
they were comfortable when we fed them. Some have seen horrible pasts, like
torture training and being forced to work, but others have been born into the
camp, like the young hope. Our school sponsored hope, meaning we gave the
elephant park a sum of money for his medical and food needs. The elephants are
amazing creatures, largest on earth, but that’s not what really made me want to
return with my parents. I told my parents about this when we got back, and they
said they really liked it so we started planning ways to get to the park. When I
found out we had a trip booked, I was so happy! And even after my second time,
I’m planning to go again and so are my friends.
o me, the elephant camp is about more than just the elephants (although those
are pretty important as well), its more about what the park means. It was my
father who first got me thinking on this, but what the park really is, is a
place that proves anything can happen if you put your mind to it. Lek started
off with a goal, to save all he elephants in Thailand from work and destruction
so she created the jumbo express and elephant haven. This is the story of
someone so small working so hard to save the giant animals she cares about so
much. To me, this is a show of true dedication to a goal. Lek started with 4
elephants and a small patch of land up in the mountains, and today she has a 50
acre reservation and 32 elephants she has rescued from illegal logging or street
work that is ruining the life of the elephants. Some elephants have given birth
at her park, so they are raising babies that have never been through the torture
training, who have only ever been trained with p! ositive enforcement, and now
the elephants are recovering from there life of slavery. To me, this is what the
park really means, more than big animals that you can feed and wash. |
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