Elephant Nature Park Part II: Skywalk and the Cat Kingdom

I forced my eyes open at the sound of my phone's alarm.

It was 6am, and the tropical sunlight was already streaming in through the window.

Although our room did not have air-conditioning, it was so cool in the hills of the far north of Thailand, that even the electric fan made it a bit too chilly to sleep comfortably. The far north is just about the only place in the country where you can feel cold!

good morning from Chiang Mai

It was morning at the Elephant Nature Park, and I was in desperate need of a cup of hot coffee.

I made my way to the breakfast area, where a pot of coffee was already brewing for the overnight guests to enjoy.

While Mom was getting ready for the day, I poured myself a cup of hot Thai highlands coffee and went to sit with some of the rescued dogs at the pavilion overlooking the Ping River.

my friend

morning on the River Ping

The day would get warm later on, but the morning air was still cold. The elephants were nowhere to be seen... but they had been up for hours. Elephants only sleep an average of 4 hours per day. They were probably already up enjoying their second breakfast!

morning coffee

the Elephant Nature Park lodge

We joined the rest of the overnight guests at the main lodge for breakfast. Like every meal at the Elephant Nature Park, breakfast was entirely vegetarian. We made some toast over the hot coals which had been set out by the buffet, and sipped coffee while watching the elephants out in the field in the far distance.

we toasted our bread directly over the coals

Then, it was time for our morning elephant adventures to really begin.

Our guide, Johnny, took us out into the field to watch the elephants eating breakfast.

Even though they had lots of proper food to eat, the elephants couldn't resist snacking on the nearby trees. Despite the best efforts of the staff at Elephant Nature Park, they couldn't keep the elephants from eating the foliage they were not supposed to!

We then took a short walk to another campus of the Elephant Nature Park; an adjacent field ringed by a wooden skywalk offering elevated views of the sprawling and expansive elephant habitat.

a local village

In the thirty years of its operation, Elephant Nature Park has rescued and given a home to some 1,400+ elephants and adds more to the heard every year. The elephants are spread out across thousands of acers located in several parks throughout Thailand. I'm not exactly sure how many elephants we got to see over the course of our two days at the Elephant Nature Park, but it was probably a few dozen or so.

The elephants have an incredible place to live, with sprawling acres of hills and forest, free access to the river, and all the food they could ever want in a safe and protected environment. 

Even though many of the elephants have been abused and mistreated in the past, they now have a happy and safe place to live out the rest of their very long lives.

Although the Elephant Nature Park is very hands-off with the elephants, some of the elephants didn't want to be trunks-off with us. One particular pair was following below us as we walked along the skywalk and were eager to say hello to our little group of visitors.

Just like humans, each elephant has its own personality. Some love humans, some are a little more wary. Some are very outgoing and social; others prefer to be solitary. I'm really happy the Elephant Nature Park does not force the elephants to perform or put on any sort of show for the guests. If the elephants want to meet the visitors, it's fine, but they will never be forced to interact with any humans if they do not want to.

While we were greeting the elephants, we got to see some of the mahouts hanging out beneath a shaded covering, overseeing the expansive parkland surrounded by the skywalk. 

In their downtime, the mahouts make carvings of their elephants, which are available to purchase in the on-site store. 100% of the sales price goes directly to the mahout.

the mahouts make teakwood carvings in their downtime

Every carving is different, and each one represents the particular elephant the mahout is in charge of caring for.

But it's not just elephants at the Elephant Nature Park. The park also rescues dogs, cats, buffalo, and more.

On the way back to the headquarters for lunch, Johnny took us to a very special segment of the park; a beautiful garden surrounded by tall fences. This was the Cat Kingdom!

I'm a cat dad myself, and in the past few years, my family have become cat people as well (except, perhaps, for my tragically allergic sister). I know my brother would have been especially envious of my visit to the Cat Kingdom!

one of my favorite things is when animals wear clothes

Here, hundreds of stray cats are rescued, spayed and neutered, vaccinated, given full medical treatment, and provided with a safe, healthy, and happy place to live. Every day, they get dozens of visitors who come to play and cuddle.

lunchtime at the Cat Kingdom

In fact, the manager of the Cat Kingdom mentioned that they would be launching a cat volunteer project at the Elephant Nature Park sometime in the near future!

After human lunch, it was time for elephant lunch too. Johnny took us to the "elephant kitchen", where huge cauldrons of sticky rice and bananas were being cooked up over hot coals.

Johnny showed us how to make rice balls out of the sticky, mushy mixture. This isn't a typical lunch for the elephants but is a sort of special food served to those who are older, have dental problems, or who haven't been eating right. It's a sort of special soft treat for them.

rice balls

After making a huge bucket of rice balls, we carried them out into the elephant field to offer them to a pair of older elephants for lunch.

Just as each elephant has its own personality, they also have their own habits. Some elephants like to be fed directly in their mouth; others want to be handed the rice ball in their trunk. One of the two elephants we fed wanted to hold the rice ball in the "fingers" at the end of her trunk, then feed herself. the other wanted to cradle the rice ball in the crook of her trunk, then bring it up to her mouth.

If the rice balls weren't round enough, they would roll them around a bit in their trunks to make them more proper to eat. It was really a lot of fun to feed them and watch them eat.

A large group of day trippers was arriving, and our overnight experience was nearly at an end. Before leaving, we got to spend a little more time with one of the babies. 

I am happy to say that I was not the only tourist who was chased by a baby elephant!

baby elephants are scary!