| Elephant Nature Park | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Interactive map of Elephant Nature Park | |
| 19°12′54″N98°51′38″E / 19.21500°N 98.86056°E /19.21500; 98.86056 | |
| Date opened | 1998 |
| Location | Chiang Mai, Thailand |
| Land area | 250 acres (100 ha)[1] |
| Website | elephantnaturepark |
Elephant Nature Park is a sanctuary and rescue centre for elephants inMae Taeng District, Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand, approximately 60 kilometres (37 mi) fromChiang Mai city, co-founded bySangduen "Lek" Chailert.[1][2] In 2013, Erawan Elephant Retirement Park opened in western Thailand as an offshoot. By 2016, there were branch parks inSurin and inCambodia, and there were plans to open a fifth park inPhuket. By then, the work was coordinated by the Save Elephant Foundation.
The parks provide sanctuary for rescued elephants and operate under a business model in which tourists pay to visit and help care for the animals, and they can stay for extended periods.
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(October 2024) |
Lek Chailert started working on elephant conservation in 1996.[3]Teak logging, in which many elephants were used, had been banned in Thailand in 1989, and those elephants had been abandoned or sold for use in the tourist industry or for begging in cities.[4] Elephants are also left maimed after poachers take their ivory.[5]
In the late 1990s, the government of Thailand was working to promoteecotourism inChiang Mai Province. Tourism brought in 350 million dollars in 1997 and was the province's biggest source of revenue; the plans were controversial with the province's indigenous people however.[6]
By 1998, an organization called Green Tours, run by Adam Flinn, had founded Elephant Nature Park, a tourist site and reserve for rescued elephants in a valley about an hour north ofChiang Mai city,[6] together with Chailert, who owned some of the land and leased the rest from the Thai government.[7] At that time, the park featured a daily show where elephants performed tricks like balancing on one leg and playing football, and included elephant rides.[4] Chailert maintained a more isolated section on one of the surrounding mountains for especially damaged animals that she called "Elephant Heaven".[4] At the time, the park had 34 rescued elephants.[4] Chailert's goal was to eventually end the performances and run it purely as a reserve.[4]
By 2002, Chailert was well known for campaigning againstelephant crushing,[8] and around that time, a documentary about the treatment of elephants in Thailand, which featured Chailert's work, was released. In response,PETA called for a boycott of the country until conditions there changed.[9]
Chailert was listed in a special 2005 post-tsunami issue of the Asian edition ofTime magazine as one of "Asia's heroes".[10] However, the boycott campaign had made her an embarrassment to the Thai government and had led to death threats and to Friends of the Asian Elephant, a government-funded organization that had done work to improve conditions for elephants, ending its funding of her work.[9]
By 2005, 17 of the elephants Chailert had rescued were adults, and she had also opened a travel agency in Chiang Mai.[7] By this time, the park no longer offered performances and had shifted to a business model in which visitors could come help care for the elephants.[9]
In 2010, the park housed 33 elephants, and visitors could stay for up to a month, paying $400/week.[11]
In 2011, Elephant Nature Park received support fromElephant Aid International for mahout training as well as alleviating foot disease and stress levels among elephants and improving their diet, sanitation, and opportunities for exercise.[12]
In 2013, Erawan Elephant Retirement Park opened in western Thailand on 50 hectares of land beside theRiver Kwai, an hour fromKanchanaburi, as an extension of the original park and using the same business model. It started out with five elephants, one of which died in the first year.[13] In 2014, there were 37 elephants at Elephant Nature Park.[13]
As of 2016, Chailert had rescued a total of 200 distressed elephants,[3] and there were branch elephant parks in Surin and in Cambodia, as well as plans to open a fifth park inPhuket.[14] That work is coordinated by the Save Elephant Foundation, run by the same people.[15] Chailert has also been successful in convincing several independent camps to improve the lives of elephants and forbid tourists from riding them, through her Saddle Off! outreach program.[16]
In addition to elephants, Elephant Nature Park houses dogs[17] as well as cats, birds, and water buffaloes[18][19]
In September 2024, parts of East and Southeast Asia were hit byTyphoon Yagi. Thetropical cyclone caused numerous deaths[20] and significant destruction in Chiang Mai Province.[21] Floodwaters reached Elephant Nature Park and forced the evacuation of residents and animals.[22] On 8 October, two elephants were reported to have died.[23]
For her work, Chailert has received a number of awards, such as theFord Foundation's Hero of the Planet (2001),[24]Time magazine's Heroes of Asia (2005),[24] a Women Heroes of Global Conservation (2010),[24][25] and the Responsible Thailand Award for Animal Welfare (2018).[26]
