I’ve always thought that elephants were awesome animals. So very large in size, but if you’ve ever had the chance to interact directly with one then you’d know that they have so much character. We visited an elephant conservation center which was a fun experience. There, we had the opportunity to feed them and watch them bathe. Many of the elephants interacted with us by poking us with their trunks, I assume they were insinuating that they were hungry and that we should give more food for them to eat. The elephants were calm, just keeping to themselves, allowing us to observe their slow but powerful motions. I was intrigued by their wrinkled skin, and floppy thin ears. However, I was concerned with how the men who rode on the elephants pulled themselves by using their ears. There were other things that bothered me as well. Just being unsure of what the quality of treatment was for these amazing animals made me uncomfortable.
The center offered a show which reminded me of a circus. Although it was interesting to see how intelligent the elephants were, it was annoying to understand that they were doing things that may have been unnatural to them. Crossing my arms with my own opinion, I continued to watched the show. The elephants painted on canvas, and were conducted to move around huge logs, and other tricks. It was probably the part of the day I enjoyed least. Otherwise the rest of the time was fun. We met a baby elephant, he was only a year old and located in the nursery where he stayed with his mother. He was so playful and has won my personal “cutest thing I’ve seen in Thailand award”. He pulled my arm many times using his trunk, trying to get me to come over and play. Almost begging. I really wish I could have. We gave him so much attention and love, it was exchanged back enormously, and it was very hard to say goodbye. I could have stayed there for hours and played with him, or even just watching him be would’ve been just fine. I never thought I’d make friends with an elephant, but in Thailand I did. I just haven’t ever really had such a connection with an animal I’ve only met once. He was a joyous creature, and thinking about him brings joy out of me.
seeKgo 