The Bring the Elephant Home foundation keeps fighting to get all elephants off the streets by education, promoting animal friendly eco-tourism initiatives, creating habitat for elephants, growing food for elephants, stimulating employment in traditional elephant villages and find solutions to solve human-elephant conflicts.
In 2008 we have planted 100,000 trees. During the rain season 2009 (June-August) we are also planting thousands of trees in Thailand. By planting trees, the living environment and food situation of Thai elephants will be improved. Furthermore, a network of elephant protectors is created. Trees for Elephants! Read more... >>>
Bike for Elephants - start your team and join the race!
antoinette - 2 July 2009 07:55
Join our race for the survival of Thai elephants! The weekend of World Animal Day (3rd and 4th October 2009) we challenge you to join our ‘Bike for Elephants’ tour in Northern Thailand. A two day adventurous and fun tour through Mae Tang valley, in Chiang Mai province. This event will raise much needed funds for the Elephant Nature Park and create awareness about the plight of Thai elephants. The Elephant Nature Park, in a beautiful mountain range north of Chiang Mai, is a safe home to rescued elephants that were previously abused and neglected.
A team needs to have 4 members. As a team you will receive your own page on our website to help you with online fundraising.
Please click here for more information - e.g. about the route ‘Tour de Chang’ - and registration form. Bike for Elephants!
The teams will try to find their own sponsors, but all support is very welcome! Support the Bike for Elephants tour with an online donation.
Nursing, growing, and planting trees in Khao Yai
antoinette - 1 July 2009 21:29
June 19th -26th - Together with the students of the Green Campus we make camp in Khao Yai for a week. A number of jobs have to be done to be able to plant 10,000 trees during the upcoming rainy season: collecting seeds, planting, growing the seeds, and potting them. We also have to take care of the 26,000 trees we planted last spring. We’ll work on that throughout the rainy season. We focus on a field where we’ll remove weeds around the trees, and fertilize the trees. Upon arrival everyone is shocked by the amount of weeds, at some places it grows over our heads. But after a serious weeding expedition the field looks great. Most of the trees have survived, some are still small, but many have grown quite a bit this past year. (more…)
11,000 trees for the wild elephants in Salakpra
antoinette - 21:23
June 18th – Today 11,000 trees have been planted for the wild elephants of Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary. Over three hundred volunteers went to work after the opening ceremony: villagers from close-by, soldiers, students from Bangkok and from the Green Campus in Helmond (the Netherlands), rangers from the reserve, and employees of our partner organization Elephant Conservation Network. It’s not easy, organizing such a large group of volunteers at three locations in the jungle. After seeing the seedlings and the holes in the ground, most of the volunteers got to work immediately. And early in the afternoon the job was done. Another 11,000 trees added! The Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary is in great need of more biodiversity. This is why we– just like last year – have planted trees among the existing trees. This way we will step by step help the elephants find more (divers) food, make sure nature can recover, and give the elephants a better chance to survive. In short, everything Trees For Elephants stands for. (more…)
Elephant World – one thousand trees planted
antoinette - 21:17
June 17th -The group of Dutch students of the Green Campus, Thai students from Kanchanaburi, and other volunteers have planted almost one thousand trees at Elephant World. Make holes in the ground, plant trees, fertilize, drink some water, make more holes, plant more trees, fertilize… all in the Thai heat. Hard work, but very much worth the effort. Because of the trees, Elephant World will have more food for the sick and abused elephants being cared for. After the planting, the students and the other volunteers could join the elephants in the river. Which they loved, of course. Read on and see the photographs. (more…)
Green Days in The Mall
antoinette - 1 June 2009 06:12
Around Earth Day (June 5-7) The Mall, Emporium and Paragon will fight climate change by reducing the usage of plastic bags in their shopping malls. They will ask their customers to use their own bags. For each plastic bag they save, they will sponsor a tree with Bring the Elephant Home. The trees sponsored by The Mall, Emporium and Paragon, the biggest shopping mall chain in Thailand, will be planted on the elephant island in Buriram next month. Think green, say no to plastic bags: less pollution, less waste and more trees for elephants!
Green days calendar:
- Siam Paragon: Bangkok Royal Orchid Paradise, from now until June 10;
- “Recycle for the Earth” exhibition and competition for new recycle ideas in The Mall Nontaburi, from now until June 5;
- Every branch: “Be green Be trendy” by sharing for trendy ideas with 5 Green Heroes how to stop global warming, with ” Green it Forward ” from now until November;
- Tree planting event on the elephant island, trees sponsored by The Mall, Emporium and Paragon: June 28, 2009.
See the full poster of the event: (more…)
Wanted: trees for elephants volunteers
antoinette - 16 May 2009 11:41
The rainy season is starting, so we need many volunteers to help us planting trees for elephants. Will you help? You can join us at four different locations to create natural habitat and food for wild and domesticated elephants. Everybody is welcome to join! Dates: June 17, June 18, June 23 and June 28.
You will have the opportunity to get involved with different Thai organizations and a variety of activities including reforestation, work together with local and international people of all ages and to learn about the problems elephants are facing.
Activities
We need volunteers to help us organizing the events, prepare the land, tree planting, give fertilizer, logistics, education, documentation, etc. If you want to join more days or join with a group: you are very welcome! Please contact us if you want to help. Dates and other details: (more…)
Sri Prae brought to the elephant island
antoinette - 2 May 2009 21:30
The elephant Sri Prae has arrived on the elephant island! After a difficult three-hour drive, we arrived at the Lammas water park this afternoon. What a reception! The villages of Baan Pai Yai and Baan Pai Noi turned out. Every idea to welcome Sri Prae was carried out.
Sri Prae gets out of the truck untroubled, and walks up to the people who want to meet her and give her fruit. Then an intense moment: Nok Noi walks by and sees all the food and another elephant! Sri Prae is curious about Nok Noi and tries to make an acquaintance. But Nok Noi stays back a bit. No surprise here, with all the excitement and after having lived alone for so long. We’re confident it will work out! The village elders come to bless the elephants and adorn them with garlands of flower and fruit . I watch the whole event from a distance. So many people, such wonderful responses… so very beautiful!
Sri Prae, 28 years old, comes from Tak, near the Burmese border, where she has worked in logging all her life. Three years ago she stepped on a landmine. Fortunately she can live in freedom at the elephant island from now on! Please read last week’s report, up to Sri Prae’s arrival on the island today: (more…)
Elephants in the sights
antoinette - 27 April 2009 09:37
Pachyderms roaming Bangkok streets will be sent to a military area, fitted with microchips and relocated
By The Nation
Published on April 27, 2009
Up to 200 elephants will soon get implanted with microchips and deported from Bangkok.
A large number of the animals have roamed the city streets, with their mahouts begging passersby to buy food from them to feed the creatures.
Bangkok Deputy Governor Thirachon Manomaipiboon says the city administration has to get tough with the roaming pachyderms and their panhandling mahouts. “Such practice is a form of animal abuse,” he points out. He adds that the presence of elephants on busy streets also poses a threat to public safety and definitely causes a public nuisance.
According to a survey, there are now about 200 elephants with mahouts begging for food in the city.
Meeting on Thursday
“I am going to meet with 19 relevant agencies on Thursday for a discussion,” Thirachon said. He said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) planned to send all street elephants to a military area on Chaengwattana Road, where they would be implanted with the microchips. “The microchips will let us know whether an elephant, which used to roam the city, has returned following its deportation,” Thirachon added. (more…)
Push for ban on export of elephants
antoinette - 24 April 2009 09:54
The government is considering a fiveyear blanket ban on exports of local elephants to stem the rapid shrinking of the wild elephant population in Thailand.
By Janjira Pongrai
The Nation
Published on April 24, 2009
About 3,000 elephants are left in the wild, compared to 20,000 decades ago, while 3,000 have been domesticated, including around 200 jumbos roaming Bangkok streets to beg for money from tourists, a meeting held yesterday at the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department was told.
The department has tabled the proposal banning trade in elephants, but nongovernmental organisations working on wildlife protection and advocacy groups for elephants have opposed it, saying it was not practical but certain conditions should be put in place. For example, the ban should apply only in incidences where Thai elephants were wanted to boost local tourism or circus shows overseas.
The department is working with several government agencies and the private sector on a national policy to preserve and care for elephants. A working committee, chaired by Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti, is discussing four other key objectives of the policy - nationwide registration of all domesticated elephants, care for wild elephants, the Elephants Bill and the “stray elephants in Bangkok” problem.
In the department’s proposal, the ban does not include the temporary use of Thai elephants for boosting diplomatic relations or for display in public zoos, which must be authorised by the Cabinet on a casebybase basis. Those elephants must be at least eight years old and they must be returned to Thailand after serving eight years overseas. The meeting will decide on the conditions of exports next week.
Elephant island volunteer weekend May 1-3, 2009
antoinette - 16 April 2009 12:50
For our project in Buriram, we need volunteers that would like to help creating elephant habitat and experience the arrival of a new elephant. Everybody is welcome to join!
It’s important and rewarding work to create alternatives for street begging elephants. If this project succeeds, we can bring more elephant home in the near future.
Activities
During the volunteer weekend, we are bringing the second elephant to the elephant island. We need volunteers to prepare the arrival of the elephant and to create more living space and food for the two elephants. The elephant island project just started, so many jobs needs to be done. During this weekend, you have the possibility to spend time with the elephants and the local people, plant trees, harvest food, and learn about the Trees for Elephants project and Isarn culture. See the schedule for the details. (more…)
