Elephant Sanctuary
A highlight of our trip was the Elephant Sanctuary. This sanctuary was 450 acres and they housed over 100 elephants, over 200 water buffalo and many cats and dogs. The elephants were all in danger, primarily from being overworked in the fields or on the streets, before they were either brought to or sold to the sanctuary. One was completely blind yet thrives due to the care and continual attention of it’s handler.
Every elephant has a handler who is responsible to care and feed them. There are two in this area as one handler was on his day off. The elephant families stay separate but are very bonded to each other.
They are used to people, so as long as you stay to the side of them where they can see you, you are safe. They are very gentle and obedient to their handlers. From their years of work and/or abuse, they respond easily to correction or calling to them.
The males and females are kept separate so they don’t breed, but often an elephant will arrive already with calf. The female calf will stay with the mom for life. Once a male calf stops nursing (about 6 years), the mother boots him out of the family. They are then taken across the river to the male area where there are fences to keep them separate. What was interesting, the mothers will often go over to the fence and visit their child.
Sometimes the elephants are naughty and not easily controlled. For their safety and the safety of others, they are kept in pens. They can socialize with other elephants through their fences.
There are two favorites times of an elephants day - first is eating. While we were there, volunteers were off loading a huge truckload of watermelons. They eat a lot of fruit and corn stalks. The local farmers exchange fruit for elephant manure, helping both. For the older elephants, the watermelon is peeled as some have few or no teeth.
Their second favorite thing is swimming.
The baby elephants are 2 and 3 years old. They were so playful and the moms are very attentive to them. The moms are also attentive to their handler so it is a safe environment.
Notice the large fence in the background of this video - this is where the male elephants live.
There are hundreds of volunteers who spend a day, a week, or even months living on the property and helping out. Most are late teenagers or young adults, but Hana met one woman who has come for the past 14 years and stays for 4 months helping. It’s an amazing organization and program.
