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The Elephant Conservation Centre in Lampang offers various activities for visiting tourists. Everyday at 9:45am, visitors gather by a pond to watch elephants bathe when kids can be spotted eying the pachyderm with a sense of awe and excitement as the huge animals disappear under water and resurface. After the wash the elephants are ready for the show. They line up holding the tail of the one before them with their trunk. The two big ones in the front hold drums and the thrid one performed as a drummer. The sounding of the drums is a signal for the kids to head for the open-air auditorium. The show brings back to life the utility of elephants in the old days when they were used to haul logs from the forests in northern Thailand rich in teak and other trees. Since the government slapped a ban on logging, these elephants are now virtually out of work. But here at the centre, their skills are not forgotten; in fact they are still very much appreciated and along the way have been taught a few new skills that are used to entertain visitors. The centre is a training ground for elephants. Here you can see the animal moving logs with their powerful trunk and tusks. You will be amazed to see the huge beasts walk forward and back on a log and even make and an about turn. There is a moderator who keeps the show lively with some witty commentary. According to the moderator, the animals were still perfect for terrain not accessible by car or other mechanised transport, and they didn't need refuelling because there was plenty of food for them in the jungle. These animals, visitors will learn, can also operate together as a team, but only if relations between team members are cordial. We saw two elephants hauling a huge piece of log and the moderator underscored the point saying that elephants were just like humans who wouldn't want to work with somebody they didn't get along with. One of the new skills elephants have been taught is painting. They have their own individual styles and their paintings go for 500 baht each or more. Other skills can be variously described as playing musical instruments, running errands for mahouts or turning on the water tap when feeling thirsty. But the moderator reminded his audience that elephants at the centre weren't treated like those we see in circus, like standing on hind legs. That, the moderator explained, could do harm to the animal, given its huge weight. For visiting tourists, homestay is another interesting choice where they can learn how to communicate with elephants or how to command and control them in the most basic way. A three-day package including mahout training and cooking classes is popular among tourists, although very few Thais subscribe to it, lamented a staff at the centre. That's understandable because price of the package last year doubled to 8,000 baht. I myself was thinking about enrolling for a six-day homestay package but had to immediately give up when told that it would set me back another 20,000 baht. A more leisurely option is watching elephants going about their chores from the comfort of a bungalow. Chang Thai Resort operates two- and three-bedroom bungalows priced 1,000 and 1,500 baht per night respectively.
At points of interest at the centre are a bio-gas plant fired by dung of elephants, that is also used for making paper, and a hospital for treating sick or wounded animals. One of the highlights here is a stable where royal elephants are kept, but to access it visitors need special permission. Six of the 11 white elephants in the entire royal can be seen here. And definitely, all of them are pampered. "Contrary to what the name suggests, their colour is not exactly white. They can be variously purple, green, yellow or red etc., something which only the specialist can tell," Dr Sittidet Mahasawangkul, head of the veterinary section explained to me as I admired Plai Thongsook, a white bull. Plai Thongsook has been here a decade. The specialist came to the centre and after months of careful inspection that involved checking everything from the head to the colour of its toes, declared Plai Thongsook a white elephant. "They also looked at the way it slept and in which direction it pointed its head or if it snored during sleep," concluded Dr Sitthidet. MORE INFO Thai Elephant Conservation Centre is located in Hang Chat district at Kilometre 28 on the Chiang Mai-Lampang Highway. This August, the centre will organise a special event in which tourists can ride elephants to plant orchids in the wild. - For more information call 054-228-108, or visit http://www.thailandelephant.org . - The elephant show is held twice a day - at 10 and 11am; a special round at 1:30pm is added on holidays. - Chang Thai Resort can be reached at 084-612-1678. - For homestay, call 054-247-875. Bangkok Post |
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