In celebration of World Elephant Day, Crooked Compass Founder, Lisa Pagotto shares her personal experience of volunteering with rehabilitated elephants in Thailand.
It is something that has fascinated me for a long time. Working with wildlife – wanting to make a difference and as silly as it sounds, letting the animals know that I care.
I have always grown up with pets and had a fascination with cats – my first opportunity to see the big cats in the wild in Africa was more incredible than I ever would have thought. But surprisingly, it was the gentle giants who captured my heart – the elephant.
Their crinkled leather like skin, long eyelashes batting slowly as the suns rays cracked the crumbling mud on their backs, small birds claiming a free ride on their shoulders and pecking rigidly at parasites as if to protect their ‘master’.
The more I watched these sturdy mammals, the more I learned. One morning on a game drive, I asked our driver if we could just sit and watch the herd of elephants that had come into a clearing in front of us. Each one had a different personality. They were strong, beautiful and unwieldly. There was a cheeky calf wobbly on his young feet as he pestered the older females. Tails swished at him, grunts were exchanged. A lone bull stood proudly in the distance, keeping a careful watch over his harem. The younger male elephants jostled for position to reach the leaves on a lone acacia tree and another female plodded slowly into in a shallow pool of water and splashed herself before trumpeting. There was a real sense of a family community amongst this herd and they were truly fascinating to watch.
When I learned you could do volunteer work with elephants, at first I was sceptical. I was interested but wanted to ensure if I went down this path, I was helping the elephants, not just spending money to be involved with a ‘tourist’ driven project.
I spent months researching and contacting companies until I found one that could provide me with an experience I was happy with, so off I went to the outskirts of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.
Sitting in the back of an old beat up ute, I bounced my way along the dusty roads past crumbled temples and long elephant grass. I had a local man curled up at my feet asleep and another puffing away on a cigarette leaning on my backpack for comfort, a machete by his side. Neither of the men spoke English, but I was curious was the machete was for. I learned it was for cutting the grass to feed the elephants.
As we pulled into a long driveway, we arrived at what was known as the elephant hospital. My host came to greet me and took me on a tour through my new home. He explained to me that the elephants they have here are all orphans. They are either rescued from the wild after their parents have been poached, they have founded wounded from a battle or they have come from other tourist camps where they have been mistreated. I hadn’t even seen an elephant yet already my heart was aching for them.
I climbed a wooden ladder onto a platform at the ‘hospital.’ As I arrived at my top, I met with one of the vets. She was also a volunteer. She had been here for six months and her role this week was to dress the wounds and abscess on the elephants. Every day at 11am, the elephants with infections, cuts and sores would make their way over to the elephant hospital. Jess (with my assistance) would clean the wounds, apply antiseptic and asses their progress in recovery.
I was then introduced to my elephant, who I would be responsible for over the duration of my time here. His name was Billy. He was a young bull who had lost his mother to poachers and was still mourning and as a result, quite often unsettled. My first couple of days consisted of bonding with him. Each morning I would be the first person to have interactions with him. I would scrub him with a brush, provide feed for him and clean out his sleeping pen. We would go on a two hour round trip walk through the surrounding jungle where he was encouraged to forage. Once he was comfortable with me, he would allow me to sit on his back – bare back – no saddle or ropes. This in itself was truly magical. Me, my ele and the rush of wind through the jungle.
We would spend 2 hours in the water every day together as well. Not in an elephant pool, but in the river. It would consist of him just laying down and letting the river water rush over him while I watched on like a protective parent, or me scrubbing him with a brush. Scrubbing his back, belly, toenails and the place he loved the most was behind his ears. He was a cheeky one too. If I had turned my back, I would be showered with water from his trunk. He did not like being ignored.
On alternate days, I would be huddled in the back of the ute I arrived in with 8 or 9 other bodies and venture into the long elephant grass fields with the local workers. This time I had a machete in hand. Covered from head to toe in the searing sun blasted down on our bent backs, dripping with sweat from the humidity, myself, the other volunteers and locals would spend hours hacking at this blade like grass, loading up the empty trucks that had followed us ensuring we had enough grass for the elephants for the next day.
 Piled into the back of a truck with the locals |
This was hard work, let me tell you. I dreaded these days. I felt like my arms were going to fall off, somehow you would always end up with your wrists and forearms sliced and cut from the razor sharp grass, which then attracted the flies.
There was no shade and nowhere to get fresh water. You would return to the camp at the end of each day what felt like 10kg lighter from the hard work and sweat poured out. At night, you would collapse on the hay floor with your elephant and hear their gentle breathing and all the hard effort was paid off and washed down with several cold beers.
Over my time here, I learned that these elegant creatures had almost human like qualities. Their chocolate brown eyes reflected emotion and they were communicative. You could sense their pain, fear and gratitude. Never have I been so engaged with such an intelligent and loyal animal.
This acrostic poem truly sums up the elephant.
Endearing
Loyal
Elegent
Powerful
Heavy
Amusing
Noble
Talented
Happy World Elephant Day!
Looking for more Animal Encounters? Download the Crooked Compass Travel App for further inspiration.
Stay up to date with the latest travel trends and new destinations opening up. To be the first to go, you need to be the first to know.
This category of tours involves light trekking, walking, cycling, rafting or kayaking for a few hours each day with a small amount of inclines and declines. You will require a reasonable level of fitness and good health to participate. It is important to note that due to the nature of some of our trips, they may take place in remote areas (with basic facilities) and can involve long travelling days on various modes of transport.
Suggested preparation : At least 3 months prior to departure, it is recommended that you undertake aerobic exercise (this may include jogging, cycling or fast walking) for 30 minutes, three times a week. It is also advised to walk on variable terrain and in variable weather conditions. For a cycling adventure, road cycling twice a week is recommended and for adventures which involve paddling and kayaking, it is important to gain confidence and rhythm rather than speed prior to departure.
This category of tours involve trekking, kayaking and cycling for period of 6 to 8 hours a day at a fairly consistent pace. Ideal for people looking to slightly increase the heart rate. For our moderately rated tours, you must have a good level of fitness and also be in good health. It is also important to be prepared for variable weather conditions. Altitude may also come into play. This category of tours may involve visiting remote areas where facilities can be quite basic. Accommodation may also involve camping, homestays or basic accommodation where facilities may not be considered of western standards. To enjoy this style of travel, it is suggested for travellers to have a reasonable level of fitness and health, a positive attitude, as well as a fairly active lifestyle. An open mind is also required.
Suggested preparation: At least 3 months prior to departure, it is recommended that you undertake 45mins – 1 hour of aerobic exercise, three to four times a week. Some potential exercises that could be beneficial include hill walking with a backpack on over variable terrain and weather conditions, as well as running and cycling dependent on the activity you plan on undertaking.
This category of tours involves trekking, kayaking, cycling or other adventure activities in remote areas for up to 8 to 10 hours a day. It is important to note that with the remoteness of some regions comes a variety of other challenges such as variable weather conditions, accommodation as well as facilities. You must have an excellent level of fitness and good health to be able to partake in this category of tour. You must have confidence in your own ability and be in good physical condition. Includes extended periods of endurance.
Suggested preparation: At least 3 to 4 months of strenuous exercise, four times a week. When preparing for treks it would be beneficial to participate in hill walks with a weighted day pack (approximately 5-8 kg) once a week for aerobic fitness and strengthening of leg muscles. It is also important to do this on variable terrain to prepare for challenging adventures. When preparing for cycling adventures, regular bike riding (at least 4 to 5 times a week for 1-4 hours is essential). It is also important to cycle on uneven surfaces or even participate in other aerobic exercises such as running or swimming to build up strength and stamina. Altitude may also be a factor in these tours.
This category of tour often involves extreme trekking, cycling or other extreme adventure activities. It is important to expect remote and poorly defined tracks and to be prepared for variable weather conditions for 10 to 12 hours per day (may sometimes be more depending on weather and altitude). These adventures are suitable for travellers who have prior experience in strenuous travel and activities, are extremely fit and have excellent health. It is also important to note that some of the terrain on these adventures will involve trekking in snow, at high attitude levels and may require technical equipment.
Suggested preparation: It is important to note that physical fitness should be an ongoing activity, commencing around 5-6 months prior to departure, or even before if you have no prior fitness. Exercise should focus on building maximum endurance and stamina. Four to five hard sessions of 40-60 mins per week should be completed and can include exercises such as going to the gym, running, swimming or cycling to focus on building aerobic stamina. It could also be beneficial to prepare by hiking on rough terrain, in extreme weather conditions or partake in altitude training.
Back to Our Blog
