Elephant Nature Park
Elephant Nature Park
Partner organisation: Elephant Nature Park
The Elephant Nature Park is an elephant sanctuary where elephants can be just elephants! They are located in Mae Tang, north of Chiang Mai, where there are now 32 elephants residing at the sanctuary enjoying a free and peaceful life. The Elephant Nature Park has had to face the results of deforestation as well. Due to the lack of trees, the elephants can’t find enough food for themselves. An elephant easily eats 200 kilo of leaves and fruits a day! Due to the deforestation there is not enough food in the forest to sustain the elephants naturally; therefore we have to buy supplementary food at the market. This is very costly and the most of the food often contains pesticides which is harmful to the elephants.
In the ‘organic forest’ that we wish to plant, the elephants can find their own food without all the harmful chemicals of pesticides. Hopefully we can rescue more elephants and feed more elephants from the trees in the future.
In the Elephant Nature Park we established a tree nursery. In 2008 already 30,000 have been planted in and around the park. This rainy season we will plant another 10,000 trees.
Elephant Nature Park provides a safe home for rescued elephants who were previously abused and neglected.
Elephant Nature Park allows its rescued elephants to live the life of an elephant. No longer do they have to paint pictures with their trunks, play the drums, or perform demeaning circus tricks. They are not made to carry heavy benches on their backs, which can deform and even break an elephant’s spine. They are no longer forced into submission with implements such as “the hook” and they are not chained during the day.
At Elephant Nature Park, elephants are allowed to roam unfettered, eating and playing as much as they like along the way. They can wander down to the river or a roll in the mud whenever they need to cool down. They are free to choose their own family group, usually centering around one of the several baby elephants who live at the Park. And they can have as much or as little human interaction as they choose.
If you are interested in an unforgettable and moving elephant experience, if you would rather walk beside an elephant than ride on top of one, then Elephant Nature Park is the ideal place to visit.
Click the articles on the left to read the updates of Trees for Elephants in the Elephant Nature Park.
