This may sound like a strange statement from me but I have a new-found respect for the elephant. I knew the elephant was strong and hard working but never knew it was as intelligent and talented as I witnessed today.Intelligence tests conducted on the elephant reveal that it exceeds all other herbivores and possesses remarkable powers of learning -- Dr. S. U. Deraniyagala, Sri Lanka
Barry, Nikola and Dana were wonderful tour guides at the Maesa Elephant Camp here in Chiangmai Thailand on this, the second day of 2010. Since Christmas and New Year is the height of the tourist season in Thailand, the crowds were heavy at times but not enough to interfere with my enjoyment of the park. From the trails where people ride elephants to the talent show and areas of elephant care, I got to see elephants up close and in all their glory.
I also got to witness the incredible connection the elephants have with their trainers. Seems there is a bond between man and elephant, much like there is a bond between man and horse in the west and, undoubtedly, as there is between man and camel in the middle eastern countries. Sure, westerners use the horse for riding and work-related tasks, but my guess is most horses are considered part of the family by their owners and I doubt it is any different here. After all, how can you work with an animal so much and not grow attached?
Elephants must have a high level of brain activity and versatility because I witnessed them challenging a person from the audience at throwing darts, coordinating with each other to stack fallen trees, playing soccer then doing the 'goal-dance' by twirling its trunk around, and even painting pictures! It just seems to me that their small eyes couldn't take in all the details they do or that they would be able to move their (on average) 12 ton body the way they do.
Imagine these elephants holding paint brushes and actually, unguided, painting incredibly accurate and proportioned pictures. They can sure maneuver those trunks to pin-point accuracy, like taking a small banana from our hands. A couple times we made the mistake of holding the whole bunch of bananas in one hand while trying to feed an elephant a single banana from the other. Obviously, the elephant was thinking, "why settle for one banana when I can hit the mother-lode?" Well, I can't prove the elephant was thinking that but it sure went for the entire meal deal.
One of the highlights of the visit was riding Jumbo – the name of our 33 year old male elephant. Here I got to see elephants in action up close! Apparently Dana, who was sitting beside me, had taken off her sandals and placed them on the seat beside her. When one of her sandals fell to the ground, Jumbo must have heard it drop because he stopped, turned his head, picked up the sandal with his trunk and swung it around to give to the trainer! Since we were climbing a fairly steep slope at the time, I think Kaittisok (the trainer) wondered whether Jumbo was tired and wanted to rest until he realized it was Dana's shoe that he held in his hand. Needless to say, we were all pretty impressed.
I was a little less impressed when Kaittisok asked whether I wanted him to take a picture of us. I thought he would simply turn around from where he sat and take the picture, but no, he takes my camera and slides down the elephant's trunk to the ground! While he is focusing the camera on us, Jumbo decided to move toward some food on the down-hill side of the trail we're on. All I could think was that here I am on an elephant without anyone in the driver's seat. Fortunately Kaittisok got Jumbo back on the trail and climbed back onto his head to direct him. I missed a few heartbeats but that's about it.
After our ride, I slipped Jumbo a 20 (baht) as a tip. He thanked me by shaking his head, took the 20 with his trunk and shared it with Kaittisok since they work as a team.On our way to the Elephant Camp we also stopped at Tiger Kingdom where we had an incredible Thai dinner while watching camels and tigers roaming the grounds. I didn't quite have the time (or nerve) to walk inside the cages with the tigers; perhaps next time. Those who did have the nerve got pictures sitting and laying beside these cute little kitties.
