o pick up things, feel, throw dirt on themselves, and even put food into their mouths. Using their trunk to hold a paintbrush and paint is a natural action they can do with their trunks.
One of the most enjoyable elephant activities we did was dining with baby elephants. We had a private dinner prepared on-site by a chef and served by wait staff to our table in a tree house-like structure at the Anantara Golden Triangle baby elephant camp. While our dinner was being prepared, we fed three baby elephants sugar cane. Greedy little buggers, they’d hold four or five pieces with their trunks while munching on another stick. Their mahouts couldn’t chop up the sugar cane fast enough! As we ate, the elephants played and did what elephants do – tossing dirt onto their backs and curiously touching everything in sight with their trunks.
And we did decide to ride elephants, which can also be a perfectly safe elephant activity when done properly. Riding at Anantara Golden Triangle is done after completing the Mahout Experience program in which you learn commands, how to ride on the neck bareback without the chair, and positive reinforcement.
For more safe elephant tourism activities, read Elephant Encounters at Anantara Golden Triangle.
Activities that are not safe for elephants to take part in are things that make them do behaviors unnatural to them, like performing head stands where they are forced to stand on their two front legs. Mahouts that have to eat their lunch on their elephant are also sign of an unethical camp that forces their elephants to work long hours.
How You Can Help
The reality is that in as little as 50 years, the Asian elephant will probably be extinct. It’s sad to think that in our lifetime, these gentle giants will cease to walk the earth. But there are some things you can do to help:
If you’re headed to Asia and riding an elephant is on your bucket list, you don’t have to scratch it off. But, I would encourage you to educate yourself on the issues and be selective in where you chose to take part in elephant tourism activities. Do your research and please visit places like Anantara Golden Triangle, where your tourism dollars directly benefit not only the rescued elephants there but are also important in the much larger picture of elephant conservation.
Don’t buy ivory products. The illegal poaching of male elephants (only males grow tusks in the Asian elephant population) for the illegal ivory trade is still a huge problem and threat to the survival of Asian elephants. So as tempting as it might be to own your very own piece of ivory, find a different souvenir – or better yet, experience – to spend your money on.
Make a tax deductible donation to the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation. 100% of your donation goes directly to the project.
Stay at any Anantara in Thailand. Even if the remote and lush green mountains of Northern Thailand aren’t your ideal holiday, you can head to the beautiful Thai beaches at Anantara Koh Samui, have a remote escape a la Leonardo Dicaprio in The Beach at Anantara Rasananda Koh Phangan, visit one of Thailand’s most famous islands at Anantara Phuket, or even explore bustling Bangkok at Anantara Bangkok Riverside or Anantara Sathorn. No matter which of Anantara’s 12 (as of January 2014) Thailand properties you choose, you have the option of as least $1 per night of your stay being donated to the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation.
To learn more about the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation and their projects, visit their website. To learn more about the research studies being conducted by Think Elephants International, visit their website.