Elephant Sanctuary

Sunlight spills over the mountains into the valley below, where elephants have a chance to roam free.

This is at the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand, a sanctuary that rescues Asian elephants that were being exploited in trekking camps, the logging industry, being forced to beg on the streets etc. These elephants are being given a second chance at life, where they no longer have to fear or suffer.

For anyone looking to travel to Thailand, please reconsider participating in things like elephant rides and elephants begging on the streets. For you to ride these elephants, their spirits are broken by putting them in a crush for days where they can't move and are tortured. Hooks that inflict pain or slingshots to the eye are used to control them.

Pass on the elephant ride where you hop on and off, never looking the chain-covered elephant in the eye. Find elephant sanctuaries like Elephant Nature Park that treat them well, where you can watch them roam freely and interact with each other, learn their names and personal stories, feed and bathe them. It's a much more enriching experience. ENP offers day tours, overnight stays and week long volunteer programs if you want to help out, where you can do all those things. There's even a dog shelter you can visit and help out in.

Facebook Google+ Blog 500px