Saving an elephant in Chiang Rai
For a week the whole team has been looking forward to today. We are going to save an elephant! At 6.00 we leave towards Chiang Rai. An old elephant that has to carry tourists on her back everyday can’t take it anymore. The owner says that she is 65 years old, but she looks a lot older. Her head is indented. The structure of her dung and the changes of her teeth show that she is a lot older, probably even older than 80. If she would stay at the camp, she would die soon. In the Elephant Nature Park she can at least enjoy her last few years in rest and peace.
When we arrive in Chang Rai the mahouts adapt the truck for this special transport. They tie tree-trunks to the sides with straw on them so that the surroundings look a little more natural. Lek puts some bananas in the truck and burns some incense sticks. After all that is done the papers are signed and it is finally time to help the elephant on the truck. We are lucky, this is done within 5 minutes and we are ready to leave. When the truck starts to drive the elephant goes into a bit of a panic. Lek and Chom, one of the most experienced mahouts stay with her in the truck. Chom sits next to her for nearly all of the journey on the edge of the truck. Lek stands in front of her and keeps her calm. After a few hours Lek falls asleep in the straw underneath the elephant.
