Besides a distant viewing when the circus came to town and also a few times at the zoo, I had never been up close with an elephant. While in Asia I rode on the back of an elephant, once in Nepal and once in Thailand. Both rides were unforgettable but for 2 very different reasons.
From Katmandu, Nepal, I stopped off for a few days in Chitwan Park, which is on the way to the Nepal - India border. In Chitwan Park you can pick several activities to do from a list. I chose to visit the elephant reserve. There I saw lots of elephants of all ages and sizes. One of the big surprises was seeing a male elephant with ...(cough, cough)...his privates hanging out. Hung like a horse has a completely different meaning to me now. Let's just say it's all relative. The elephant's appendage was about the length of me -- about 5 feet...no exaggeration. Yes, I can now say that I have seen an elephant up close.
Not only did I learn about the anatomy of an elephant, but I also learned about the differences between the Asian elephant and the African elephant. The Asian elephant is smaller overall than the African elephant. The Asian elephant has smaller ears, one "finger" on the trunk, and only the male has tusks. In addition, I learned that elephants in general do not have very good digestive systems. Because the majority of what goes in the elephant's mouth comes out the other end, an elephant has to eat approximately 300 pounds of leafy vegetation each day. In the picture in the upper left the elephant handler is listening to music and relaxing on top of his elephant, while his elephant grazes. In the picture in the upper right the men are preparing snacks for the elephants.
On my second day in Chitwan Park I experienced my very first elephant ride. In order to get on top of the elephant, I climbed up a platform like a wooden jungle gym. I waited for the elephant to approach. Once the elephant was in place, I stepped onto the wooden "chair" that was strapped to its back. The wooden chair never touched the elephant's back. There was a big cushion of blankets between the elephant's back and the wooden chair. Once everyone was situated, the elephant walked us through the park.
At one point the elephant used its trunk to clear away a low branch in the walking path. At another point we came upon a wonderful surprise. We found a mother rhino and its baby hidden in the long vegetation. The baby was suckling the mother. We also ran into 2 more rhinos. This time it was a male and female bathing in a pond. I could not have asked for a better elephant ride and animal viewing experience. Eventually we returned back to the large wooden platform and dismounted from atop of the elephant.
My second elephant ride happened during my Chang Mai trek in Thailand. It could not have been more different from my experience in Nepal. The big issue for me was how I was to get on the back of the elephant. The handler wanted me to step on the elephant's face just above its eyes. It had been raining the day before and everything was muddy, including my boot. I did not want to put my muddy boot on its face. I just did not want to do it. The handler tried to explain that compared to the elephant I was very small and the elephant would barely feel me stepping on its face. I was still having a hard time shaking the fact that I was to put my muddy boot on its face and step up to the elephants back. Of course I was the only female in a group of 10 guys. The group was losing patients with me. Finally based on peer pressure I stepped up.
Later on during the elephant ride the group got down to stretch their legs. I refused to get down. There was no way that I was going to step on the elephant's face again with my muddy boot. While everyone walked around, I hung out by myself on the back of my elephant. I do not recall seeing anything special. I just remember feeling bad for the elephants, especially since they had big heavy chains around their legs as well. These elephants had all been "broken in." This is a euphemism for they were tortured until they learned who was boss.
Since my 2 elephant rides in Asia, I have had numerous opportunities to view wild elephants in Africa. Although I am glad that I had the experience of riding an elephant, I prefer giving them some distance and letting them roam on their own terms.
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