Posts from — March 2009

Elephants are amazing creatures. They are the largest land animals, they eat for 16 hours a day, consuming as much as 495 pounds of food, and they can live up to 80 years. Many people don’t want to take on the challenge of nurturing these sweet, loving, and potentially dangerous animals.

During our stay in Chiang Mai, Thailand we visited The Elephant Nature Park. There are many elephant parks in Thailand but this one was different.

The Elephant Nature Park is run by a woman named Lek Chailert. Lek’s mission is to save as many elephants as possible. She works tirelessly to rescue Thailand’s Asian elephants from the awful treatment many receive.

In Thailand, it is not illegal to bring elephants into town to make money. The government of Thailand classifies elephants as livestock, which means the owner can use the elephant any way he pleases. By these rules, elephants have the same protection as a chicken.

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There are old ladies walking around the streets of Chiang Mai selling the freedom of small birds.  The ladies have round straw baskets, each containing three birds.  When I see this, I cannot resist setting them free.

They chirp excitedly when I open the basket, and they fly away.  I wish I could set all the birds free, but it costs too much.

(Note: Buddhists believe that showing kindness to small animals brings good karma.)