Katie and I bumped along on yet another early-morning, over-stuffed mini bus to Sen Monorom. It was a lovely little town nestled in the hills of Mondulkiri. We went on a walk through these picturesque hills to a waterfall. It wasn't swimmable or particularly impressive but the walk was beautiful and on the way back we made friends with 3 little boys who we suspected had been surreptitiously following us for a while. They finally worked up the courage to reveal themselves and walked with us back to the town. They were very sweet. That evening we though we'd treat ourselves to a massage after the long bus journey and walk. This was a mistake. We were made to endure what was more similar to torture than a massage. Two ladies who we think were not even masseuses with rough calloused hands rubbed us down, prodded and poked us and generally made us feel incredibly uncomfortable for almost an hour. It was so bad it was almost entertaining. Almost.
The next day was Elephant Valley Project Day! It is a fantastic organisation that rescues elephants from the tourist trade or lets local families keep their elephants there for a rest. Many Cambodian families, especially the indigenous people of Mondulkiri, use elephants in their day-to-day lives for lifting, carrying, taking produce to and from markets. They love their elephants, treat them well and have used them in work for generations. However, as pressures and demands increase, so does the elephants' workload. They end up working longer hours with less time for eating drinking and sleeping. The families need these elephants and the income they bring to survive. How can there be a balance between sustaining the livelihood of these families while making sure the elephants are treated fairly? The Elephant valley Project has come up with an ingenious answer; they look after the elephants for a few months or years, depending on how much rest they need, and pay the families a monthly wage. Sort of like renting the elephants from them for a while. Most of the elephants residing at the project were permanent or soon-to-be permanent residents as this works so well for the families that many don't want their elephants back. The animals therefor live in a semi-wild state. They have a huge area around which to roam, forage for food, bathe in rivers and generally be elephants. Tourists like me then pay to follow them around for the day; the closest you can get to seeing wild elephants in their natural habitat with all their natural behaviours.
We trekked into the jungle to find our first herd of 4 female elephants. They are still looked after by mahouts (who also need to be in work) but they are left much more to their own devices. Standing separately from the group was Onion, an elephant who had been so badly treated for so much of her life that she didn't know how to interact with the other females. Her owner had worked her so hard for so long that one day she just refused to do anymore. A wound was created in the middle of her forehead in which a bull-hook (a metal pole with a hooked spike on the end) was driven so that she was in so much pain she had no choice but to carry on working. The stories of all the elephants were incredibly cruel and saddening. We watched the herd of 4, and Onion bathe in the river with the aid of their mahouts (because they never learned to do it themselves) and then immediately go to a mudbath and cover themselves in mud again. They were obviously very happy and contented in their new lives. With the help of a guide, we learned all about the elephants' personalities and behaviours and the physical signs of abuse and exhaustion to look out for. I immediately felt incredibly guilty for adding to the problem by going on an elephant trek in Thailand. Never again. We followed the herd as they stomped though the jungle, eating, pulling down branches and generally crashing about. In the afternoon we followed a pair of females (best friends!) and another lone female. It was so beautiful and moving to see them in their almost wild environment. I felt like David Attemborough!
We trekked into the jungle to find our first herd of 4 female elephants. They are still looked after by mahouts (who also need to be in work) but they are left much more to their own devices. Standing separately from the group was Onion, an elephant who had been so badly treated for so much of her life that she didn't know how to interact with the other females. Her owner had worked her so hard for so long that one day she just refused to do anymore. A wound was created in the middle of her forehead in which a bull-hook (a metal pole with a hooked spike on the end) was driven so that she was in so much pain she had no choice but to carry on working. The stories of all the elephants were incredibly cruel and saddening. We watched the herd of 4, and Onion bathe in the river with the aid of their mahouts (because they never learned to do it themselves) and then immediately go to a mudbath and cover themselves in mud again. They were obviously very happy and contented in their new lives. With the help of a guide, we learned all about the elephants' personalities and behaviours and the physical signs of abuse and exhaustion to look out for. I immediately felt incredibly guilty for adding to the problem by going on an elephant trek in Thailand. Never again. We followed the herd as they stomped though the jungle, eating, pulling down branches and generally crashing about. In the afternoon we followed a pair of females (best friends!) and another lone female. It was so beautiful and moving to see them in their almost wild environment. I felt like David Attemborough!