A life-changing experience

Hi, it's Jordan and Hilary. We're as passionate about animals as we are about traveling.  So when we traveled to Thailand in February, visiting an elephant sanctuary was on the top of the list. 

Our day at Elephant Nature Park was a bittersweet experience. During our time there, we learned about the Thai ritual known as phajaan, or "the crush", in which a baby elephant is tortured until she is fearful and subservient, her spirit literally crushed. Here's a haunting image of this process.

We had tears in our eyes as we walked alongside these beautiful creatures, surrounded by mountains. They're now free to roam the grassy expanse of the park, but many were hobbling from injured backs and hips after years of giving tourists rides, day after day. (Contrary to popular belief, elephants do NOT have strong backs.) Some were blind from infections (their eyelashes torn out to make jewelry to sell to tourists) or from being stabbed by their trainers out of anger. Some had malformed feet after stepping on land mines. We were surprised to hear that despite their historically revered status in Thailand, the Thai government still classifies elephants as livestock, and their owners are free to mistreat them without repercussions. 

What if...

We've had many sleepless nights since returning from our trip, asking ourselves "What can we do to help?" We learned that Elephant Nature Park was temporarily fostering a group of 15 elephants (some mothers and their babies) after a tourist riding camp went bankrupt. In June, the camp will auction them off unless ENP can raise enough money to purchase them – about $25,000 per elephant. While we would love to save ALL of them, we hope we can at least save one of them. Five elephants have been rescued so far, LET'S MAKE IT MORE.

When you click that red button on the right, your donation will go to the Serengeti Foundation, ENP's partnering organization here in the US, that will send the full amount of funds directly to Lek Chailert, the founder of ENP, to purchase the elephant. Any amount will help. Together, we can save an elephant's life – isn't that a powerful idea?


Your donation is Tax-Deductible. The Serengeti Foundation is a registered 501c3 organization.

*We are not affiliated with Elephant Nature Park, the Save Elephant Foundation, or the Serengeti Foundation. We're just two travelers who are compelled to help!*