Page 30 - BBC Wildlife Volume 36 #06

A wild

A sanctuary in Thailand is

rehabilitating captive elephants
with the aim of returning them
to the wild. Richard Eccleston

reports on the project.

hen we arrived at the entrance
to Elephant Valley, an elephant
rehabilitation centre near Chiang
Rai, northern Thailand, we had to
wait in the truck with our guide
because two of the sanctuary’s
residents, youngster Lou and
Wmatriarch Modee, had decided to
take a dip in a large swampy pond right next to the gates.
To avoid disturbing them, we sat tight until bath time was
over and the pair had happily sauntered off, now caked in
fragrant mud, to find some food on the opposite bank.
Most Asian elephants in Thailand, as in other parts of
Southeast Asia, are having a tough time. Shrinking natural
habitats, persecution by farmers for crop raiding and
poor treatment of captive animals used in the logging and
tourism industries have all taken their toll on the mammals.
The latest government survey puts the number of
elephants in captivity in the country at about 3,346. Most
sanctuaries still offer tourists elephant rides, swimming
with elephants and washing experiences – activities
that are known to cause the animals stress, and can be
dangerous for humans. Often these elephants are not well
looked after and kept in chains with little opportunity to
forage for wild food and behave intrinsically.
It’s not all doom and gloom, however, as several new
initiatives are trying to make a difference and Elephant
Valley is one of them. Jack Highwood and Nipakorn