On World Elephant Day, we bring to you sanctuaries across Asia that are conserving the beasts and letting them be in their natural habitat, prioritising their wellness.
Travellers are increasingly becoming conscious of the way they visit wildlife-centric spots so that they can witness animals in their true habitat, sans chains and cages, and engage with them without disturbing their peace. Ethical elephant sanctuaries ensure that the majestic beasts thrive in peaceful environs, after having dealt with the rigours of the logging and tourism industries. We take you through some of these places.
Here are some of the best ethical elephant sanctuaries that you must visit
Samui Elephant Sanctuary, Thailand
Claiming to be the first ethical sanctuary for elephants in Thailand’s Koh Samui, it has been focusing on the well-being of these animals since 2018. Inspired by the works of elephant conservationist and Save Elephant Foundation founder Lek Chailert, the sanctuary emphasises rescuing these majestic beasts from long working hours in the tourism and logging industries.
The place is a retirement home for the pachyderms, where they can roam, socialise, bathe and play in the mud. Visitors can feed and walk with the animals and watch them live a dignified life in their natural habitat. The sanctuary has a strict policy against riding, bathing or mud bathing, trunk hugging, elephant kisses, sitting on or lying on elephants, among other restrictions.
In 2020, the second Samui Elephant Sanctuary opened in Chaweng Noi with the support of its visitors as well as hard-working employees and volunteers. Winner of the Best Animal Welfare Award twice in a row by the country’s tourism authority and the United Kingdom, it has also won other recognitions, including the ‘Best Practice Elephant Venue’.
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Elephant Valley Project Mondulkiri, Cambodia
Founded in 2007, the concept behind the 1,500-hectare sanctuary was to offer a home to the injured and overworked animal. To protect the remaining wild elephant population in Cambodia, this project aims to create a natural habitat that is devoid of stress for the Asian elephants, listed as endangered by IUCN, by focusing on the “Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare” – freedom from hunger and thirst, discomfort, pain, injury or disease, fear and distress and to be able to express natural behaviour.
The place has certain treatment routines for its pachyderms as well as a programme for volunteers and visitors on how to interact with them. The sanctuary does not promote feeding, bathing, swimming or riding. However, the only people to ride the elephant bareback are trained mahouts who have forged a bond with each of these magnificent beasts after earning their respect.
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Phuket Elephant Sanctuary, Thailand
Jointly run by the sanctuary’s founder and CEO Montri Todtane and Lek Chailert, Phuket Elephant Sanctuary is spread over 12 hectares. The sanctuary has numerous ponds, open fields, and hillsides, making it the ideal place for its 14 beasts to roam. It also offers programmes to its visitors who can observe the animals in their routine. While guests can choose to stroll with the elephants and feed them fruits, caretakers maintain strict vigilance, keeping the animal’s well-being their priority. However, the sanctuary, as a part of the ‘Saddle Off’ model, has restrictions on activities such as riding, hosting shows, bathing, trunk hugging, elephant kissing, sitting on or lying on the beasts, being loud or noisy or crowding around them.
Click here to join their initiatives or join their volunteer programmes.
Elephant Nature Park, Thailand (World Elephant Day)
Apart from rescuing and rehabilitating these endangered species, the Elephant Nature Park (ENP) aims to develop a sustainable ecosystem for these species as well as the humans here. Situated in Northern Thailand’s Chiang Mai province, ENP was launched in the 1990s. It endeavours to eliminate swimming, riding and bathing, among many other restrictions under the ‘Saddle Off’ model. Along with restoring elephants to their natural environment, ENP also provides shelter to other rescued animals, including cats, dogs and buffaloes.
The place also offers projects such as ‘Journey to Freedom’ and ‘Elephant Nature Park’, where those above 12 years of age can learn about taking care of the pachyderms by using herbal treatments, preparing food for them and planting trees, among many other things.
ENP has also won several awards by institutions such as the Smithsonian, and has been featured in publications as well as documentaries. Lek Chailert had been recognised as the ‘Asian Hero of the Year’ by TIME magazine in 2005.
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MandaLao Elephant Conservation, Laos
Engaged in interactive and educational practices, Laos is one of Asia’s ethical elephant sanctuaries, which believes that each of these mammals will one day live in their natural habitat – the wild. The sanctuary dwells on a unique concept of forging a bond between visitors and elephant tourism in the most natural and dignified way, prioritising these majestic beasts’ well-being.
MandaLao houses elephants aged between four and 60 who have been rescued from camps where they were subjected to low upkeep and logging duties. The sanctuary has taken up various measures to safeguard the existing herd, including discouraging riding and holding shows.
You can opt for the ‘Therapeutic Trek’, where you will be accompanied by two beasts for a 2.5–kilometre round trip. If you wish to explore the depths of the woods, choose the ‘Inside the Hearts of Elephants’ where you will be served a Lao-style lunch in the forest before relaxing at the Tad Kuang Song waterfall. The ‘Communicating with Elephants’ tour allows you to make special treats for the animals, which you can feed them.
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Wildlife SOS, India (World Elephant Day)
Wildlife SOS provides rehabilitation to many other animals such as bears, leopards and reptiles, apart from elephants. Its projects centred around the gentle beasts include Mathura’s Elephant Conservation and Care Centre (ECCC), Haryana’s Elephant Rehabilitation Centre (ERC) and India’s first Elephant hospital in Uttar Pradesh. ECCC was launched in 2010, where it joined forces with the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department to provide shelter to pachyderms that have been abused, held captive and exploited.
Along with participating in various advocacy campaigns, visitors and volunteers can also join the Wildlife SOS team to learn how to stop inhumane practices like riding, animal abuse and skin trade.
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Tiger Tops Elephant Camp, Nepal
Launched in 1964 by Texans Toddy Lee Wynne and Herb Klein, Tiger Tops began as a hunting lodge, only to be sold to British adventurer Jim Edwards, who turned it into a wildlife viewing operation with the help of his partner Chuck McDougal. Around 2016, the company stopped all elephant safaris and went on to build a unique ethical sanctuary. The camp’s objective is to create an educational interaction between humans and the beasts in the latter’s natural habitat. Focusing on the beasts’ well-being, it has begun several initiatives advocating responsible tourism, which is at the same time, sustainable.
At its two outposts in Chitwan’s Tharu Lodge and the Karnali Lodge in Bardiya National Park, visitors can tour the preserved jungles and observe these gentle giants along with other animals such as tigers, rhinos, crocodiles, leopards and deer.
Barumun Nagari Wildlife Sanctuary, Indonesia (World Elephant Day)
The sprawling campus of 600 hectares of the Barumun Nagari Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in North Sumatra’s Batu Naggar Village. It is Indonesia’s first and only elephant sanctuary that was set up in 2015 with six rescued beasts. The sanctuary became an Indonesian Conservation Organisation in 2019 after it managed to provide optimal care to the mammals it had rescued. The sanctuary, licensed by the Indonesian Department of Environment and Forestry, shelters 12 rescued and critically endangered Sumatran elephants, of which three are bulls and nine are females, and three are calves.
Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary, Thailand
Home to nine elephants, Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary (BLES) is a 218.5-hectare reserve built by Britisher Katherine Connor in the memory of Boon Lott (meaning ‘survivor’ in Thai), a baby elephant. The sanctuary, situated in the Sukhothai Province, is designated to house rescued and retired pachyderms.
BLES does not support riding as it endeavours to provide a peaceful place for pachyderms who have had to endure the cruelty of the tourism and logging industry. It acknowledges the psychological trauma that these mammals may be going through.
You can participate in many activities such as collecting food, strolling and observing the gentle beasts in their natural environment as they relearn how to be in the wild. You can also offer your support through donations to various funds, sponsoring a mahout and volunteer work.
Click here to donate.
The Elephant Freedom Project, Sri Lanka (World Elephant Day)
Located in Kegalle, the project aims to rescue elephants from captivity or from ending up at a riding place and give them a safe home. At the moment, this family-run outfit rents one pachyderm who has worked in the wood logging industry for years. They do not allow riding, but you can accompany the beast on walks. Since it doesn’t support mass tourists, you have to book your visit in advance.
Located in between Kandy and Colombo, The Elephant Freedom Project is a safe place for the beasts rescued from captivity. Even though the sanctuary is amidst several places that offer elephant rides, it is trying to make a difference through its initiatives and providing refuge to the animals.
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