INDOCHINA/ Chiang Mai/ Ran-Tong Elephant Sanctuary

Our Thai guide told us that there are approximately 4,000 elephants in Thailand and about half of these are in protected elephant camps.  The wild elephants are being killed by hunters to keep them out of the cities and the rice paddies.  Ran-Tong is one of the elephant sanctuaries that rescues abused and injured elephants and cares for them.  Their mission is to educate the public of the elephant's long history with Thai culture and teak industry.

This male loved being fed bunches of bananas

They have rescued over 40 elephants and have assigned a trainer for each one.  The trainer stays with his elephant for life and this is considered a legacy job.  In the mornings, the elephants are fed bananas (provided by the camp) by tourists and the lucky tourists receive a big sloppy elephant trunk kiss for their efforts.  After the feeding, the elephants are given baths in the river.

The mahout (trainer) with his elephant

I was surprised when the elephants ate an entire bunch of bananas at a time.  One big bite and then down the hatch.  Amazing.  They also eat roots, grasses, bamboo, small trees, and other edible plants.  In fact, researchers have found that a single elephant will eat up to 800 pounds of food in a single day.  That's a "lotta bananas, folks!"  The tourists dollars help to provide the much needed food for these gentle giants. 

This girl just finished her bath

After their baths, the elephants were taken to a sunny area to stretch out and dry naturally in the sun, the way they would dry themselves in the wild.  We were herded into an arena where the elephants did some humorous tricks, again each with its own mahout who seemed to treat the elephants with great gentleness.  The finale was an elephant painting demonstration.  This, too, was incredible considering the paintings were not splashes of random paint, but were rather primitive landscapes with several combinations of colors. 

Next came the part that I've been waiting for since I first saw Johnny Weissmuller tromping through the Hollywood back lot jungle with Cheatah on an elephant, the elephant ride!  The elephants are very sure-footed given their size, but they could be steered by a gentle push on the back of their left or right ears by the mahouts.  It felt very much like being rocked in a giant cradle and I found the whole experience to be magical, gentle, and soporific. 

Our guide beneath us as we say on "our" elephant

Thankfully, the elephants were free for the rest of the day to roam the property and do pretty much as they wished.  They had finished their work for the day.

We returned to the gorgeous Four Seasons Chiang Mai Resort to rest and reflect on this very special day among these gentle and intelligent animals.

 sunset from our screen porch