A Day with Elephants

This morning we ate a hasty breakfast at the hotel before being picked up at 7:45 by two drivers. The kids didn't know where we were going until an hour later when the van stopped in a jungle clearing next to two adult elephants and two babies.

We listened to a presentation by the owner of the elephant farm and I really liked his philosophy. He said that their facility was not about tourism and making elephants do tricks, but that he also wasn't a part of what he called the "aggressive conservation industry". They rescue elephants that they feel have potential to be healthy and well-adjusted, with the ultimate goal that they reproduce. So far they have had 31 babies with five more on the way, and have returned seven of them to the wild. He talked about how healthy elephants need to be surrounded by their family members and need to walk each day.

They started by pairing each us us to our own elephant based on personality. Deacon spent the day with Bang, who you see at the top of the post. Ella's elephant was named Mother Kamoon.

I was put with Boon Yen, probably because his being old and heavy made us compatible. He really was an amazing animal! We started by introducing ouselves by feeding them, and then learned what to check each day to ensure the elephant is healthy. They showed us how to look at the dirt mark on their side to verify that they slept lying down the night before, check to make sure that the length of tear tracks below their eyes is equal on both sides, verify that they are sweating around their toenails, and then there's the poop. They had us count the droppings, and open it up to check the water content, smell, and size of the fibres.

I wished that Boon Yen was closer to to the size of this one month old, but this cute guy was actually a little jerk. His favorite game appeared to be "head butt the tourists" and I was constantly on the lookout to make sure that he didn't get too close to the kids.

Next they taught us to command our elephant to lie down so we could brush it. Here Heather is giving Mamoon a drink and a quick wash.

Next they taught us different ways of mounting the elephants and had us jump on. Here is Tyson with Mateep.

Once we were all lined up, we started on a trek through the jungle. Our destination was a waterfall an hour away and the three month old baby walked with us and trumpeted all along the way. At the waterfalls we washed and scrubbed our elephants in a pool that had been made by damming the river.

After the bath, we had a lunch that they laid out for us. It looked like a feast and was way more food than we ever could have eaten. I would have preferred some rice to all of the sweets that they think us foreigners eat. Deacon though, was in his element. We were eating on a raised bamboo platform overlooking the river and the elephants would come and go as we ate. At the end of the meal, we were gathering up our stuff and Boon Yen stuck his head inside, and with his trunk, swept half of the sweets and fruits into his mouth. He even grabbed the banana leaf tablecloth and ate that too. Everyone was yelling at him, but I kind of like his style - maybe our personalities were a match after all.

So it didn't have anything to do with Mother's Day, or our anniversary, but it is the most special activity we had planned for our vacation; so it kind of made sense to do it on our most special day. Heather is the best mom and the best wife anyone could dream of having and our little herd has been so blessed to have her as our family.

- C