Once there we all put on traditional Karen clothing. The guide explained that it is what they are used to, it makes them trust you, later we would not have to wear them as they would have our scent.
The guide also explained the differences between African elephants and Asian elephants.
- They come from different parts of the world.
- They a different amount of toenails.
- They have a difference in size; African elephants 4-7,500 tons) are much larger than Asian elephants (3-6,000 tons).
- The trunk. At the end of the trunk they have what you call "fingers" (not like ours, think of it more like a point or a tip). African elephants have two while Asian elephants have one.
- There head is shaped differently. African elephants have one dome, which makes their head look more rounded, while Asian elephants have two domes.
- The size of the ears. African elephant ears are much larger while Asian elephant ears are much smaller.
- They eat and play and all that fun stuff 20 hrs out of the day and only sleep for 4.
- Elephants are pregnant for 2 years.
- When they are young they are covered with hair, as they grow older it falls out.
One thing that the sanctuary stressed was the importance of not riding elephants. There are articles that say it is bad and they explained that it hurts the elephant. One because it is a substantial amount of weight, two, the chairs that people often sit in are attached by chains: one around the neck, one under their belly, and one between their legs. They explained that it was the most uncomfortable. Of course it is left up to you to have your own opinion about whether or not elephants should be rode. After the experience I had (detailed below) I feel like I had way more fun and was able to "connect" with the elephants in a different way.
Part 1: Feed the Elephants The first part was to feed the elephants. They gave us bananas and sugar cane to feed to them. And within 15 minutes everyone was out of food. The elephants were very greedy and often mistook my camera for a banana. We were able to pet them and play with them. There was a two month old baby elephant who enjoyed causing mischief and they was also a 2 year old elephant who threw a tantrum. Next they said we could hug and kiss the elephants (well they kiss us). Turns out they really do, but it's more like a vacuum. And they really do hug you, they wrap their trunk around and give a nice little squeeze. |
Part 2: Mud Bath The mud bath was a lot of fun. We had our swim suits on originally, so we took off our shirts and headed down to this mud pit with about knee high water in it. We waited while the elephants came down. We didn't have to wait long as some of them ran (the baby slid, it was quite cute). Once in, a lot of them laid down and we got right in there with them, putting mud on them and rubbing it in. Some of the guides did it to us too. I was very very muddy. Between elephants throwing mud on them and the guides smearing it into our backs and falling in the water, it was safe to say I was covered more than the elephants. |
Part 3: Watering hole Since everyone was so muddy, we (elephants and people) walked over to a watering hole. There we were able to splash water on them and scrub off the mud with brushes. Once again the elephants got right in there, especially the baby. I thought it was drowning at one point but his trunk would come up and he would go right back in, loving every moment. |
The last part of the morning was a yummy lunch made by the owners of the sanctuary. This gave everyone a great opportunity to discuss their travels, things to see and places to go. Everyone was so friendly and talkative, it was like sitting with family and hearing about their day. Unfortunately, eventually we had to leave. It was sad to go, but an unforgettable and amazing experience.