Thai Elephants
 

Many of you may not know but Tong, Thailand's #1 guide, has built an elephant sanctuary, which can be visited. It is called "Elephants'Home and Nature" and is located a couple of hours outside Bangkok.

We look forward to a visit in December. My 12 year old granddaughter can't wait to swim , bath and play with the elephants, including babies.

She posts often under the camp name on Facebook if you wish to enjoy the happy pics.

Is it this place?

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti..._Province.html

If so, they allow the elephants to be ridden. I thought it had been established that that was a no-no. Since Tong took visitors to the late unlamented tiger park I have doubts about her concerns for animals.

Am pretty sure that Teaghan got a very serious illness when swimming with elephants. IIRC, it was life threatening, in Thailand or maybe India, and maybe a mistake was made. KimJapan would know the details.

Be careful. Elephants don't use toilets.

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...omment-3912327

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...omment-3705502

Reminds me of when we were at an Elephant rescue place and could 'bathe' the elephants. my husband threw a bucked of one and used way too much force. the water went over the elephant onto 2 boys. the boys thought he wanted to 'play' and have a water fight and started throwing buckets of water on my husband... ewwwwww... i made a wise decision to just watch that day.

I would absolutely not want to visit any "sanctuary" which also offers elephant riding and would not feel comfortable recommending such a place either.

don't go then if you think the animals are abused just by someone riding on their backs as has been done for ever.

I think your "animal rights" concerns are way overplayed. Thursday, who established it as a "no no"?

I know I am fighting an uphill battle with you zealots.

WE WILL VISIT ANYWAYS.

It depends on whether you prefer to get your understanding of the impact on of riding these animals from those who work and study them, have dedicated their lives to this, have studied their anatomy and physiology and understand animal behaviour, in short, are actually experts... or you're one of those types who scorns the experts in favour of opinions made by those with vested commercial interests or the opinions of those who simply don't have anything to base their opinions on other than how they'd *like* it to be.

I certainly am not a zealot by any stretch of the imagination, but I *do* believe we travellers can enjoy the world and its wildlife without resorting to leisure activities that hurt the animals we are so keen to see.

"as has been done for ever" has to be one of the most ridiculous arguments around. I am sure people used the same argument in support of slavery, or, more to the current discussion, the use of wild animals in circuses.

For info on riding elephants see this thread:

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...-elephants.cfm

If you bothered to click on the first link I posted above you would see you, yourself, suggesting that swimming with elephants was dangerous.

Just because you are a fan of Tong does not make everything she does a good idea, see tiger park.

Bob, my only concern here is about the girl.

thursdaysd two links to other threads made me realize that you were aware of what Teaghan and Kim and Rich went through.

The first link goes directly to a comment by you.

Your words:
just a note on the swimming part....please review kimjapan's report in the last few months where she tells of medical conditions stemming from her daughter swimming with the elephants....you may want to rethink it...

For those who want to interact with elephants near Bangkok without supporting somewhere that allows them to be ridden, this outfit has a location in Pattaya. (Which is considerably closer than Sai Yok.)

http://www.elephantjunglesanctuary.com

Rhkkmk ...How I see it. These elephants have probably been rescued and were trained to be ridden long ago. So it's too late for them and riding them doesn't hurt them per se at this point. However, the training they went through originally was torture over days and days where their spirit is completely and forever broken. Can't move more than inches, are beaten with nails on board's etc.

This was necessary at one time, but is rarely necessary today; elephants are no longer essential for many jobs.

Riding an already trained elephant may not do more damage to THAT animal, but your photos and stories will encourage this awful torture into the future.

Check out LEK, founder of elephant Nature park. She should be sainted! She has lots of videos and info on this.

I LOVE THE CIRCUS, ZOOS, GETTING FODORITES EXCITED, PRESIDENT TRUMP.

now that should be good for you to make you jump up and down..

I sit and suggest taking some antibiotics with you. Cipro, maybe.

rhkkmk - your advice has been great over the years. i thank you for that. i don't think that my answer was 'jumping up and down' in any way. enjoy your ride... just don't YOU jump up and down while riding!

thanks bill, will do.

the swimming part is still up in the air until we see the river.
I think Kim's experience was in a pond, but I may be wrong

Interesting thread, to say the least. We have watched elephants being bathed in northern Thailand and ridden them in both Thailand and India. Not sure I would be comfortable bathing WITH the elephants. The interaction between humans and animals will continue to evolve gradually I hope, as the extreme views of those that are most passionate about this in the short term, do more harm than good. IMHO...

I think you are right that she was in a pond. A river might be better. I wonder how good the sewage treatment is upstream. And farm runoff, factories.

Mrwunrful, good suggestion to take cipro. Also, consider valium, since bob rhkkk LOVE(S) GETTING FODORITES EXCITED

<<I sit and suggest taking some antibiotics with you. Cipro, maybe.>>

CaliNurse, thinking just like you, except I was going to suggest Xanax!