Julia and I were lucky enough to spend a few days at an elephant sanctuary in Northern Thailand.  For being one of Thailand’s most revered animals domesticated elephants are treated incredibly inhumanely in Thailand.  Throughout our  trip through south-east asia we saw many tourists riding these gentle giants.  It may be tempting to do, but when you see it up close and personal it’s actually quite sad.  Many have a mental ‘seat’ strapped to their backs, while 2 or 3 tourists sit on them as well as a mahout (Thai word for trainer.)  They are pulled by the ears and hit to keep moving or to follow directions.

The sanctuary that we visited takes retired or disabled elephants and allows them to live out the rest of their lives in peace and safety, free from abuse or work.  There have even been a couple of baby elephants born at the sanctuary!  These guys were too cute for words.

We saw many elephants at the park with spine deformities after years of work at ‘trekking camps.’ We learned that in order for an elephant to be trained, it is cruelly taken away from its mother as a baby and beaten into submission during a practice known as Phajaan, translated to “breaking the spirit.”  It was heartbreaking to learn this information, but also heartwarming to see these happy, rescued animals.

We must have put good vibes into the universe because later that week Ringling Bros Barnum and Bailey announced it was ending all elephant shows and retiring their circus elephants by 2018.  This is such awesome news for these beautiful creatures.  Help the cause by refusing to ride elephants or attend ‘shows’ where these animals participate in acts like painting, playing instruments or other tricks.  The actual act that they are performing may not be injuring them, but to train them to be submissive enough to follow these directions they were most likely beaten, or treated horribly.

Do your research and support organization that truly have these animals best welfare at heart.  Reputable sanctuaries are the way to go!