I don’t feel as though this statement should be taken as generalization for everyone’s experience on the elephant trek, but there were most definitely some veins of similarity running the group opinion of our little outing.
I remember at the beginning, before the trip even began… it was actually at the pre-program meeting in Lakretz and one of the students asked Michael if he had ever been elephant trekking. He said that he wasn’t sure if elephants should be used for trekking or just left in the wild. I’m pretty sure I would have felt guilty even if he hadn’t said that, but the whole guilt thing was definitely multiplied upon arrival to the Khao Lak Elephant Camp.
After a short sang taew ride we arrived to the Khao Lak Elephant Camp where we were greeted by a macaque holding a sign which read “Hello, My Name is Michale.” I’m not sure if they meant to spell it that way intentionally. Honestly the whole thing scared me shitless—excuse my language—but at first I thought the monkey standing on its hind legs was a dead stuffed version of a creature that once roamed the jungle. Much to my chagrin the creature moved, indicating that the live thing fared a worse fate than my assumption of its dead counterpart. But who knows, I could be completely wrong and maybe the macaque was born in captivity and has no experience with living in the wild. Perhaps, in fact, the Khao Lak Elephant Camp was doing something good for the primate. I have no way of knowing now, but one can only hope.
I have no experience with elephants, much less training them, but the ice pick looking things each of the elephant ‘drivers’ held looked quite menacing, as did the chains attached to the ankles of pachyderms. I winced as a driver smacked his elephant on the head, though I’m not sure how much force would be needed to get the attention of such a large mammal.
As we boarded our large, long-nosed vehicles from the raised elephant port I wondered if we were heavy to the elephants. I wondered how many one hour treks a day were demanded of these animals. I’m very interested in what the elephant trekking project group will come up with in their findings.
Personally, I feel like our group got a little bit jipped on the whole excursion since the elephant groups were split in two. Our jungle trek was through an out-of-commission rubber plantation that was overgrown with natural fauna. We trekked out to a stream where one of the camp employees stood with camera in hand. I guess the elephants are trained to pose with trunks uplifted for the camera. I heard the other group trekked out to a water fall, though I must admit our group’s elephant drivers were very friendly telling us the names and ages of our elephants. Stephanie and my driver was the best. He carried with him a pair of scissors and palm leaves which he cut and folded to make a bird for me, two fish for Stephanie and three very real looking grasshoppers, one for each of us and another upon special request by Barbie on a neighboring elephant. I still feel really guilty about not tipping him, but he took the elephant away before I realized I should have.
Back at the elephant port, we dismounted our elephant topping bench and were asked to buy a basket of green bananas to feed the elephants for 50B. I felt a little obligated, especially since our elephant “Lilly” was terrible cute and a very good elephant. During the trek, she often did her own thing, wandering off and pulling branches and squeezing between rubber trees. Stephanie and I got nice pictures with her, and that was about the only part of trip I didn’t feel as guilty about. Once we had cleaned up (elephant trunks can be very dirty, being as they use them like hands) we were offered pineapple and special elephant camp water and then asked repeatedly to buy pictures of ourselves atop our elephants in the river photo shoot. It was a bit awkward and we opted to leave since none of us were planning on buying, because at this point in the trip, we’re all hurting in the wallet area.
In the end I think I agree with Hanna when she said that she wasn’t too happy about the whole elephant treatment aspect, but she was satisfied with her decision to go. I’d be kicking myself if I passed up the opportunity to pet and feed an elephant and we definitely got some once in a life time pictures (or pretty close to it) but if there had been an option to go pet the elephants and feed them a basket of bananas and have a photo shoot, that would have been perfect for me. The excursion was more about seeing elephants than seeing a “jungle.”
--Michelle Honda
I remember at the beginning, before the trip even began… it was actually at the pre-program meeting in Lakretz and one of the students asked Michael if he had ever been elephant trekking. He said that he wasn’t sure if elephants should be used for trekking or just left in the wild. I’m pretty sure I would have felt guilty even if he hadn’t said that, but the whole guilt thing was definitely multiplied upon arrival to the Khao Lak Elephant Camp.
After a short sang taew ride we arrived to the Khao Lak Elephant Camp where we were greeted by a macaque holding a sign which read “Hello, My Name is Michale.” I’m not sure if they meant to spell it that way intentionally. Honestly the whole thing scared me shitless—excuse my language—but at first I thought the monkey standing on its hind legs was a dead stuffed version of a creature that once roamed the jungle. Much to my chagrin the creature moved, indicating that the live thing fared a worse fate than my assumption of its dead counterpart. But who knows, I could be completely wrong and maybe the macaque was born in captivity and has no experience with living in the wild. Perhaps, in fact, the Khao Lak Elephant Camp was doing something good for the primate. I have no way of knowing now, but one can only hope.
I have no experience with elephants, much less training them, but the ice pick looking things each of the elephant ‘drivers’ held looked quite menacing, as did the chains attached to the ankles of pachyderms. I winced as a driver smacked his elephant on the head, though I’m not sure how much force would be needed to get the attention of such a large mammal.
As we boarded our large, long-nosed vehicles from the raised elephant port I wondered if we were heavy to the elephants. I wondered how many one hour treks a day were demanded of these animals. I’m very interested in what the elephant trekking project group will come up with in their findings.
Personally, I feel like our group got a little bit jipped on the whole excursion since the elephant groups were split in two. Our jungle trek was through an out-of-commission rubber plantation that was overgrown with natural fauna. We trekked out to a stream where one of the camp employees stood with camera in hand. I guess the elephants are trained to pose with trunks uplifted for the camera. I heard the other group trekked out to a water fall, though I must admit our group’s elephant drivers were very friendly telling us the names and ages of our elephants. Stephanie and my driver was the best. He carried with him a pair of scissors and palm leaves which he cut and folded to make a bird for me, two fish for Stephanie and three very real looking grasshoppers, one for each of us and another upon special request by Barbie on a neighboring elephant. I still feel really guilty about not tipping him, but he took the elephant away before I realized I should have.
Back at the elephant port, we dismounted our elephant topping bench and were asked to buy a basket of green bananas to feed the elephants for 50B. I felt a little obligated, especially since our elephant “Lilly” was terrible cute and a very good elephant. During the trek, she often did her own thing, wandering off and pulling branches and squeezing between rubber trees. Stephanie and I got nice pictures with her, and that was about the only part of trip I didn’t feel as guilty about. Once we had cleaned up (elephant trunks can be very dirty, being as they use them like hands) we were offered pineapple and special elephant camp water and then asked repeatedly to buy pictures of ourselves atop our elephants in the river photo shoot. It was a bit awkward and we opted to leave since none of us were planning on buying, because at this point in the trip, we’re all hurting in the wallet area.
In the end I think I agree with Hanna when she said that she wasn’t too happy about the whole elephant treatment aspect, but she was satisfied with her decision to go. I’d be kicking myself if I passed up the opportunity to pet and feed an elephant and we definitely got some once in a life time pictures (or pretty close to it) but if there had been an option to go pet the elephants and feed them a basket of bananas and have a photo shoot, that would have been perfect for me. The excursion was more about seeing elephants than seeing a “jungle.”
--Michelle Honda
Enhancement of Michelle's “Elephant Trekking in Khao Lak” blog... by Hanna:
ReplyDeleteWhen deciding which blog to enhance, I chose this one because I think that after doing my research project on elephant trekking I can contribute an educated opinion on the topic. At first I was hesitant to go elephant trekking because I did not know how to feel about my favorite animal having to lug around sarong-clad tourists four times daily. I did end up going after all, which I am happy about because it made me want to learn more about the interworkings of the industry.
After my research project I found how elephant trekking can be sustainable both for the company and the elephants. If trekking companies minimize the size of the trail they can reduce edge effects and maintain biodiversity relatively well. One of the trekking companies that half of the group went to (myself included) noticed how the trail was extremely small considering elephants walk through it multiple times per day. Another way to achieve sustainability is to grow at least part of the elephant’s food on the grounds of the trekking area; this will reduce transportation costs and food costs. Also, making compost is a significant component of elephant trekking sustainability. Using the enormous amounts of elephant waste to make compost and fertilizer not only prevents harmful runoff into water supplies, but also provides a means for supplementary income. There are further suggestions for and indicators of sustainability that are included in my groups powerpoint posted on the wiki page.
Many people are mostly interested in the elephants’ sustainability and well being, since this is the more ethically/morally challenging aspect of trekking. In my opinion, the best way to maintain the elephant’s sustainability is to keep using the elephants that already are trained to trek, but try to introduce other captive elephants that have not yet been trained on a course to different areas of service such as national park protection. Another important way to maintain sustainability is to keep trekking elephants only with very experienced handlers from communities whose culture revolves around elephant training. This ensures that the elephants will not be in hands of people who do not know what is best for them, and also carries on specific cultural aspects of certain communities.
Though I still am skeptical of elephant trekking tourism, I think that incorporating these suggestions will benefit both companies and elephants regarding sustainability of elephant trekking tourism. I know that a lot of people have many issues with elephant trekking tourism and hopefully some of these suggestions can make people feel that it can be sustainable and is not necessarily an awful form of tourism.
-Hanna Linstadt
Additional Comments On the “Elephant Trekking in Khao Lak” Blog... by Grace:
ReplyDeleteI was also in the Elephant Trekking Sustainability research group. I enjoyed reading Michelle's blog and agree with all Hanna's comments made above. It was also really interesting when we talked with various tourists and the director of Asia Safari, because we learned a lot about the importance of tourist motivations to go trekking in the first place and how the business operates in terms of local community involvement. I just wanted to add a few comments about that below!
At Asia Safari, we surveyed about six tourists of different backgrounds and asked them which factors motivated them to go elephant trekking. Some of the given options were: adventure, cost, nature, culture, supporting locals, and education. After using a pair-wise ranking technique, we found that four of the six tourists believed that nature was the most important motivating factor when deciding to go elephant trekking (with culture and education as the second largest factors). Their responses indicate that the company should sustain their natural environment not only for the sake of the ecosystem, but also to attract new customers. In other words, by preserving their natural surroundings, Asia Safari can become more sustainable both environmentally and economically. In fact, the director of Asia Safari noted that about 70% of the tourists come all the way from Phuket to Khao Lak to go elephant trekking, since Khao Lak offers a more natural environment.
After talking with the director further, we learned that he valued conserving nature and supporting locals more than he valued making a profit (via another pair-wise ranking method). In addition, we found out that before the director built the business, he went around the local community to get the people's approval to create Asia Safari with the reasoning that their business would affect others as well. If more than half of the villagers agreed to it, the company would be able to start their business and would have a six month period before the locals could vote again. This entire practice is not required by law but is instead a type of community code respected by the people.
That was maybe the most interesting piece of information to me about our research, because we had predicted initially that Asia Safari probably created their business with profit in mind and with indifference to the local community's reaction. Instead, we discovered that the director values his relationship with the other villagers despite the fact that his main customers are tourists. However, it is important to note that our findings only reflect the operations of Asia Safari, so how other elephant trekking companies function might differ. Still, it was definitely great to know that the local community was able to participate in the decision-making process and that this particular company understood the importance of preserving the natural environment over creating revenue.
-Grace Lee
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI was on the same elephant as Michelle and had a similar experience. After going on the trek I was very interested to hear the results of the group who was going to study elephant trekking. I was glad to know that these elephants were descendants of ones who were removed from the wild and not taken from the wild themselves. I also felt bad for that macaque, especially since it had to stand on its hind legs for so long and hold a sign. I also wondered if the metal chair they put on the elephants hurt them. There was only a blanket in between it and their skin. I also agree that our group got gypped since I was expecting to trek through actual jungle and not an old rubber plantation. The woman who worked there who was trying to get us to buy pictures on our elephants kept telling us that if we spent money there it would go to helping elephants but I’m not sure if I believe her. My favorite part was getting to feed and pet the elephant and I also would have been satisfied with doing just that and not having to ride one.
ReplyDeleteIt would also have been a lot better if we were walking through more of a wild area, but I would be worried about the impact on the ecosystem of having so many elephants walking through one place all day. From what Hanna told us in the report, any small animals would be scared away, which would damage the ecosystem. Elephants also push down trees and make big mud puddles in the ground. I suppose that creating an elephant trekking area is a good use of a retired rubber plantation since the trees would just be torn down and replanted, which is not very sustainable. It is good that natural vegetation is allowed to grow back, even though some of it gets squashed by the elephants. It is better to use land that has already been turned into a plantation than to damage pristine jungle for elephant trekking.
I saw the elephant dung being gathered and I'm assuming it would be used as natural fertilizer, which is helping the sustainability of farming. It would be even better if fruit trees and bananas could be grown on the same property that could be used to feed the elephants since I know they eat a lot of food. As far as social sustainability, the elephant handlers seemed to enjoy their job and should be employed as long as people want to come ride elephants, and the elephant can still work, which is a long time. If tourism were to decrease more dramatically that would be a problem since it is so expensive to keep the elephants. I would be interested to know what the income is of the elephant handlers and how that came to be their livelihood.
--Stephanie Falzone
When I first made my decision to go to Thailand for the study abroad program, one of the first things that came into my mind was elephant trekking. When we were in Thailand, I didn't really think about the whole experience since we were so preoccupied with other activities. When we got to Khao Lak we were given the opportunity to Elephant Trek and almost the entire group signed up. Along with Michelle and Stephanie I went to the same location and was completely disappointed.
ReplyDeleteI had heard others talk about how they did not feel like it was morally right to use elephants as a form of business, but I never really put too much thought into the whole situation until I finally experienced it.
Once we started riding the elephants I began to feel really bad. Not only were these elephants carrying more than 250 lbs, but they were also walking with chains surrounding their legs. I know this is necessary, supposedly, to make sure they do not leave when they are not working, but I think it would be okay if they were removed during the day when they are constantly walking around with a tremendous amount of weight on their backs. I say "supposedly" because they explained to us that females are usually less aggressive and tend to not be so wild, and all the elephants were female so I dont really see a use for the chains.
Continuing, I also that it was not necessary for our drivers to carry around those picks that are supposed to be used for picking at the rubber tree to show us how the liquid escapes from the bark. Although those picks are suppose to serve the purpose for the rubber trees, the drivers used them to hit the elephants on the head when they went the wrong way or were walking too slowly.
Both these situations are extremely wrong, and their business should practice methods that are less cruel to their elephants
The environment we were walking through was also pretty bad. Although it was very green, the elephants often walk through different paths and destroy different plants. The drivers also destroy different plants biodiversities when we are walking through the different plants so that they can get through.
I agree with Stephanie and feel like they should just make a path so that the plantation is not that extremely affected.
As well like Michelle, I would have just been happy with taking a picture with an elephant and getting to feed it.
Especially since the elephant i rode on was the eldest and had little energy to continue at the same pace as every other elephant.
-Barbara Castillo
Enhancement of Michelle's “Elephant Trekking in Khao Lak” blog... by Cathi Lee
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Michelle’s blog and all the comments that followed, it is clear that the experience varied within the group and between the two groups. I trekked with the group that went to the waterfall to swim.
Initially, I was excited to go elephant trekking and made it a mission from the pre-departure meeting. Well, it’s not like I could do it in LA. It was my first and possibly my last time trekking with an elephant after my sympathy poured out for their quality of life. To be honest I had fun, but I think the swimming made that possible and the fact that I was riding on the healthiest looking elephant.
The experience was not as I had hoped. As soon as we arrived the state of one of the elephants grabbed my eye. She was old with a sunken in face and wrinkled with age. My first thought was that she was too old, but I guess the view of the trainers was that you’re never to old to work.
The path was bleak, trekking through the same monoculture backdrop that you see all over Southern Thailand. When I think trek, I don’t think of trekking through a rubber tree field. Lucky for us we broke away from it all for some time and headed through denser surroundings that were more natural and meandered through to a waterfall. The elephants were given a break while some of us splashed around and tried not to get drawn down stream.
I noticed that Michelle’s group had several things we didn’t. We weren’t greeted with a monkey, our trainer did not have a device that resembled a pick, nor did our elephants trek with chains.
I was pleased to see that my elephant was being unruly and taking ten minutes or so to eat a banana tree and no harm was done to her. The trainer tried to get her to continue the trek, but she did so at her pace and dragged the tree to our final destination.
When we finished it came to my attention that there was a rather large pile of pineapple leaves for them to eat. I did not ask but I assume it came from a farm close by, if not somewhere on the property. This was a sustainable approach to supplying a large portion of there diet. The elephants provided many economical benefits for their owners. They trekked, provided waste that could be used for its rich byproducts, and they provide employment for those that train them and ride them…but at what cost? I assume our group’s four elephants were bred in captivity as well and sadly never really felt what it is like to be free. They just lug around hundreds of pounds several times a day on command.
Even though I enjoyed the experience, I would not recommend it unless they adopt a more sustainable method for both the company and the elephants as Hanna stated previously. Obviously there needs to be some sort of trade off between environmental and economical sustainability. Personally, I find there are better ways to make use of the land they trek on and a way to employ more people and gain community involvement.